


Behind the Fear

by Amyrix



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: CyberMasters, Gen, Jack being a good friend, Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, Post-Season/Series 12, Some TLC from the Fam, Team TARDIS saves a planet, The Doctor (Doctor Who) is a Mess, The Doctor finally wears a dress, The Doctor vs the Master, The Master Has Issues (Doctor Who), The Master escaped, accidental prison break, the Doctor ignoring her problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24979711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amyrix/pseuds/Amyrix
Summary: After surviving two years of murder attempts in prison, the Doctor is accidentally rescued by a ragtag group of rebels, including Jack Harkness. Recovering from all her injuries and trauma, figuring out what happened to the Master and helping the rebels liberate their planet is usually a walk in the park for the Doctor. But with the revelation of being The Timeless Child and the destruction of her adopted people and planet still weighing heavily on her, she'll need a lot of help from her Fam and friends.
Relationships: The Doctor & Jack Harkness, Thirteenth Doctor & Jack Harkness, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair
Comments: 27
Kudos: 105





	1. Running out of options

_Inevitability._

_The unknown._

_Nothing scares people like these two concepts._ _It’s what most fears boil down to. Not knowing what happens next. Knowing that nothing you do can change what happens next._

_It scares even Time Lords, who like to pretend that they’re above such things._ _Recently I’ve wondered if that’s what drove Tecteun and the Shabogans of Gallifrey to seek the closest thing to immortality they could find._

_I am often afraid, despite what the stories and rumours would have you believe. I’ve felt the powerlessness of inevitability too many times to count._

_I felt it as I saw Clara face the raven._

_I felt it when the Weeping Angels took Amy and Rory._

_It’s one of the things that keeps me running. Searching. Learning. The more I learn, the more I can circumvent things that seem inevitable. The more I brush away the veil from the unknown._

_But the unknown…or full knowledge of something…can also serve me well._

_Rule no. 1 of the Doctor: The Doctor lies._

_This time I don’t tell them the full story. People who know the full story tend to die. Most recently River, Donna, Clara. I avoid thinking about Bill. That wound is still too raw._

_So I tell them just enough to keep them safe. Well, so I thought. Until the Master tried to kill them. Kill me (again). Until Gallifrey appeared through a portal in a Cybermen-ravaged galaxy. Until the Master told me about the Timeless Child. And I felt everything that I thought I was shatter._

_So for the first time in several hundred years, I left someone to do the dirty work and I ran. I ran to the only place that ever feels like home these days. Only to have that safety, that haven, also ripped away. To be replaced by cold stone, metal bars and guards. And I’m once again where I absolutely hated to be._

_Trapped._

_Imprisoned._

_Alone._

_With centuries of thoughts, regrets and loss as company._

The Doctor’s matted, blonde hair was flung over one shoulder, chin in her hands, elbows resting on the stone sill of her tiny jail cell window. She was staring out into the dark void of space. It had become a routine over the past two years. Once she heard the prison's systems switch from night to day she'd spend a few minutes looking out over the stars, starting her day by thinking about her friends and her fam.

She had only wanted a few moments of peace, to try to begin piecing her life back together after the revelations in the Matrix and leaving someone to do her dirty work again. But the Judoon had infiltrated the TARDIS' defences and ripped her away. Dumping her, without any explanation, in a prison.

True to form, the first five things she’d done were escape attempts…which ended up with her almost cracking a rib and dislocating a shoulder. Unfortunately, both were her own. (The guards were much tougher than they looked. So was the ground.)

After completing her morning routine of "meditating on ways to escape", she moved into a few of the Venusian aikido katas. She’d had to find ways to keep her muscles fit and herself from growing crazy in the confined space. This body liked to keep moving, filled with effervescent energy, not inclined to sit still, much as her eleventh incarnation had been.

The guards had learned to be very careful when she gets time in the yard after the first few escape attempts…and, admittedly, because most of the inmates tried to kill her when she was within a few feet of them. She’d been allowed a few books on her third day after the Librarian had stabbed her with a pen in the bicep and given her a whole lot of paper cuts with a flurry of bookmarks. Despite bleeding profusely, the Doctor had been quite impressed with her technique. Especially since the librarian was from a supposedly docile species. It turns out she was an assassin on the side, specializing in making wanted inmates "disappear" for quite a hefty fee.

Over the ensuing weeks, most of the Doctor's wounds gradually healed. Not that anyone could tell, as she was continually injured. The Doctor was not keen on wasting any regeneration energy on trifles. As a result, she bore several scars and was still bandaged up from the most recent attempt on her life.

They’d had to give her a new shirt after the infirmary staff had complained that the old one had grown too ratty and would infect her wounds. And undo all their hard work. The brown shirt was surprisingly soft and clean. She suspected it was due to the laundry staff, who she’d been entertaining with stories of her exploits (editing it a bit to make it less incriminating and not mentioning that they featured her), during her laundry duty. They’d discovered that she was a disaster and had delegated her to fetch water. All the prison laundry was washed by hand.

A lot of the prison operated with low-tech, which made it impervious to hacking and all manner of hi-tech ways to break in or out. It was also mostly carved out of an asteroid. And seemed to be in the middle of an otherwise deserted sector of space.

The Doctor had also been allowed some time in the yard (or what amounted to the outside on an asteroid) after teaching the cook and her gardener husband more efficient ways of gardening with their limited resources. And staff who ate better meals were happier and more inclined to accommodate her. Especially since she hadn’t tried to escape in nearly six months.

The mechanical actions of her exercise routine let the Doctor get lost in her thoughts, only snapping back to the present when her muscles started aching and she realised that she’d been going through all of the martial art’s possible kata combinations over the past two hours.

She brushed her hair from her neck and realised with a start that it had grown past her shoulders. When did that happen? It was kind of annoying. Her eighth face had gone for longer locks, but she found she preferred shorter ones. Less for the enemy to grab onto in a fight. Didn’t obscure your vision. Wasn’t….annoying. Maybe she could twist one of the next murder attempts into a haircut, she mused. She ripped a strip off the bottom of her overly-long orange prison overalls and tied her hair into a ponytail. She was suddenly reminded of Jenny, her clone-daughter, and her face briefly lit up with happiness. She shook her head to focus on her next daily task, and sat down cross-legged on the floor below the window, taking up the top book on the pile and burying her nose into it.

Her brain had a habit of deleting things that it did not deem useful in the near future or due to past experiences. Over the past few weeks, she’d been painstakingly trying to retrace her steps through history, trying to figure out what specifically had gotten her imprisoned. But she had been getting the sinking feeling that it had something to do with Ruth and the lives she didn’t remember.

The words “fugitive” and “cold case” kept circling around in her brain. The guards had all been tight-lipped and even had psychic defences up. Even the prison had no definitive markings.

The Doctor shook her head, trying to refocus on the words on the page in front of her. She had been trying to run from the inevitable again - this could be Shada. The Time Lord prison was in its own bubble universe. And it was the perfect place to keep her from “meddling”. Many (more than she’d like to admit) would be only too glad to see the Oncoming Storm, the Imp of the Pandorica, the Beast of Trenzalore, the Destroyer of Skaro, the Butcher of Skull Moon incarcerated here for the rest of her days. Out of their way. Out of trouble.

She had dismissed that she was in the maximum-security wing of Stormcage very early on in her incarceration. She was absolutely certain that if she’d been in the infamous prison, River (a pre-Library, pre-Darillium version of the archaeologist) would have rescued her within days.

Her hearts sank as she finally started contemplating the likelihood of where she was and her chances of getting out. She was not expecting a rescue. Her fam didn’t know she was still alive. Her TARDIS was who knows where. Her sonic was confiscated. Everything she owned, down to her earrings and custard creams, had been confiscated. She wasn’t sure if any of her allies even knew she was in prison. The last time Jack Harkness had been spotted, he had seemed to be in quite a pinch. And she had no way of contacting anyone who could help her. Everyone in the prison was quite careful to keep anything remotely useful out of reach.

The Doctor sank back against the wall, let her book fall to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest, resting her forehead on her knees. She didn’t do well with fate and inevitability…well, really, with the absence of choices. If there was no choice or if there was one she didn’t like, she’d make a new one.

But maybe this time…she really didn’t have any other choices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first foray into Doctor Who fanfiction, so your comments and suggestions would be much appreciated.  
> This fanfiction started quite accidentally. I started rewatching Doctor Who earlier this year and then, once lockdown was in full effect in South Africa at the end of March, ended up having a lot of time to watch seasons 3-12 and write.  
> While working on my original novel one evening, in between watching Thirteen and her Fam, this idea sprouted and 3 hours and more than 3 000 words later, I had almost 3 chapters written.  
> I'm still not quite sure where this is going, but I'm excited to invite you all along for the ride!


	2. An unexpected prison break

The Doctor was about a quarter of a way through her kata routine when there was a ruckus. It was not unusual since they were in a particularly rowdy prison. The Doctor loved a good ruckus. Especially when she was at the centre of it. But as she’d recently earned herself several cracked ribs during just such a ruckus, she felt that a little caution was called for today, so she continued with her exercises. She’d know what was happening soon enough.

It wasn’t a long wait, as scarcely two minutes later two people (in hooded cloaks, no less) ran past her cell. The Doctor froze for a second, her curiosity warring with her recently acquired prison knowledge that suggested she should rather lay low to avoid further injury.

She shook her head fiercely as her ribs ached when she twisted her torso too quick in a kata movement and gingerly continued with her exercise. But she paused a few moments later when she heard someone running back towards her cell. There was a clang as the person grabbed the bars and pressed closer to peer at her.

“Were you doing Venusian Aikido? I heard it’s absurdly hard to learn if you don’t have multiple arms and legs. And it doesn’t really have offensive moves. Which seems weird when it comes to a martial art,” the figure said, the high timbre of her voice betraying her gender.

"Yes, I was," the Doctor answered. “My instructor said I had a special knack for it. And I’ve been practising it for a long time. It helps when you’re in a pinch since I’m not a big fan of guns,” she added, shifting into a more neutral stance.

“Oookay. You look, and sound, like you'd be unexpectedly useful. You dangerous? Why are you in here?” the female asked cheekily, tilting her head slightly, her face still hidden in the cowl and hood of her cloak.

“Depends on who you ask,” the Doctor shrugged. “And I’m not exactly sure why I’m in here. You’d have to ask the Judoon.”

The figure stirred at the mention of the Judoon, considered her for a few moments. Despite not being able to see her expression, the Doctor could see the moment she decided ‘what the hell’.

The female took out a small device and, with a shrill sound, it unlocked the Doctor’s cell. She motioned for the Doctor to follow and headed off back up the corridor. The blonde prisoner didn’t think twice about following her and ran out, hissing slightly as her ribs protested the activity.

The corridor was dimly lit for some reason. Quite atmospheric and appropriate for a prison break, thought the Doctor. Quite unlike their usual blinding sterile state. Intense light was also a form of torture and her genetic need for the bare minimum of sleep had turned out to be quite fortunate. She usually managed to get in an hour or two when the gardeners hid her in the shed during her gardening duty or she was in the infirmary after a severe injury.

“I assume you managed to hack their systems or tinkered with both the main and auxiliary power systems,” the Doctor stated as they ran.

The mystery woman chuckled. “I have some very talented colleagues.”

They came to a junction and the stranger headed left without hesitation.

“Are we breaking someone in Solitary out?” the Doctor asked, noting their heading. She had, of course, memorised the schematics for the entire prison when she stole them during her first week here. In case of just such an occurrence as was currently underway.

“Looking for someone specific?” the Doctor asked.

The female ignored her and headed to one of the vault-like doors in the first row of solitary confinement cells. The device, which the Doctor now strongly suspected was sonic in some way, made its shrill sound again and the cell clicked open. It was empty.

“Argh! They moved him,” the female exclaimed in aggravation and horror.

“Dependin’ on what time it is, he could actually be in one of the yards for some mandatory ‘sunshine’,” the Doctor remarked.

The hooded female turned to stare at the Doctor, then, with a curse, turned back to stare into the cell.

“We don’t have much time left.” Then she paused. “Or rather, I don’t want to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary.”

The Doctor noted the slightly cryptic nature of the remark and filed it away with the female’s knowledge of Venusian aikido and willingness to free strangers from prison.

“Okay. Since we got this far,” the female turned back to the Doctor. “How long do you think until they bring him back?”

The Doctor tilted her head and a few more wisps of blonde hair escaped her ponytail to frame her bony face.

“Well, as I’ve said, depends on what time it is.”

The female frowned. “You don’t know what time it is? I’d thought you’d know based on the prison’s schedule? You know, alarms and bells and such.”

The Doctor pursed her lips and frowned, looking away. “Well, I’ve found that something in this prison messes with certain aspects of my ordinarily excellent sense of time,” she reluctant admitted. “Plus, they like to screw with the inmates and change the schedule around frequently.

The stranger pressed a button on her device and relayed the time.

“Well, then you have excellent timing.” The Doctor grinned. It felt a bit creaky and disused. “They should be heading around that corner in another couple of minutes.

The hooded female started and glared accusingly at the Doctor. “What?!”

The Doctor’s grin widened. “So we have a few options. We wait in the cell, you somehow cloak us or we go hide somewhere and come back later.”

Barely five minutes later they were running down the corridors again. The lights were clicking back on to their blinding settings and several burly guards were shouting and pursuing them.

The Doctor had not felt this good since she’d broken that guard’s hand for inappropriately touching the timid, female political prisoner who had been in the cell next to her for a few weeks. It must have been three or four months ago now.

Somewhere in a corner of her mind, it bothered the Doctor that she didn’t know exactly when and where she was and what was happening outside the walls of the prison. Now that escape seemed an option, she had a feeling that reality was going to crash down on her. And that she'd better be ready to hold her breath and swim for her life.

The hooded female and the prisoner they had just freed were running ahead of the Doctor. The hulking minotaur-looking man had a fearsome build but surprisingly gentle eyes. Their saviour led the two escapees down a few more corridors before throwing open what looked like the door to a janitor’s closet and pushing them inside.

The Doctor stumbled inside and froze. The janitor’s closet was surprisingly spacious. And contained another person. And a whole TARDIS control room. _Her_ TARDIS control room.

The blonde felt her jaw drop. “But…but..how?” she managed to croak out.

Her rescuer dropped her hood, revealing a mane of glossy chestnut hair with two short antlers poking out. “Yeah, isn’t it cool? All bigger on the inside,” she remarked, walking past the Doctor up to the console.

“I found him. And someone that might be useful,” the deer-woman said, joining someone at the console, hidden behind the central crystal column.

Behind the Doctor, the TARDIS doors opened and another figure rushed in, wheezing, and closed the door behind them.

"Okay, I got all the info we need and caused a bit of chaos to cover our escape." It was the second figure the Doctor had spotted running past her cell. This deer-person was wearing wire-rimmed glasses and the distinct look of a techie. He cast a curious look at the blonde frozen near the door and walked across the room to join the others at the console.

The TARDIS made her characteristic wheezing sound and her interior lights flashed. The Doctor swallowed back the lump in her throat. She was finally back with her beloved Ghost Monument.

“I guess it’s too much to hope for that you found a Time Lord?” a voice said in a distinctly American accent, then trailed off in mumbles. “Not that I don’t love travelling with you, Old Girl, but he, I mean she, just _gets_ you….haven’t seen hide nor hair of her…not even rumours in _ages_.”

The Doctor finally found her voice and stepped closer to the console. “Captain Jack Harkness, you unexpected, brilliant man!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always get the feeling that the Doctor, despite what he/she says, actually loves running. And getting into trouble.  
> But following her recent trauma, which, I feel, is crazier and more traumatic than what the Doctor has ever faced, she needs some cuddles and looking after. And by someone who'd ignore her protests and just sweep her along for a bit. So, enter the quirky, loveable, unfiltered Jack Harkness.


	3. Reunions

Captain Jack Harkness stepped around the console of the TARDIS as he heard an unfamiliar female voice with a Northern England accent compliment him. Something about the accent tickled his memory.

“Ooh, those are words I love to hear,” he quipped, curious to see who their newest passenger was.

His eyes fell on the wiry blonde in filthy, orange prison overalls who was grinning at him like a maniac. He stopped and narrowed his eyes at her, trying to place where he knew her from. Prison had not been kind to her, but he could see the beauty in her bony frame and underneath the grime and didn’t think she was the type of woman he’d forget.

The TARDIS made her wheezing noise again and then, unexpectedly, took off. Jack was thrown against one of the crystal pillars and the blonde woman dropped to the floor, laughing in delight.

He could hear the startled voices of Zephyr, Föhn and Swift, who had been making their way to the TARDIS med-bay. By the thumps he heard, he surmised that they had also lost their footing.

The turbulence smoothed out and Jack got to his feet. He faced the blonde and approached her with a sudden twinkle in his eye. “I know only one person the TARDIS acts out for. Doctor, we finally meet again!” He spread his arms wide and dropped down to the floor, gathering her in a huge hug. Then he pulled back and kissed her, ignoring her body going rigid in his arms. She pushed him back, laughing and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Didn’t think you could get more gorgeous,” Jack flirted with a wink, clearly ignoring her too-slight frame, dirty hair and grungy outfit.

“Considering I just escaped after what I estimate has been two years in prison, I’m going to have to disagree,” she said with a grin.

A serious look, tinged with concern, flitted over Jack’ face and he took her arms in a careful, but firm grip. “What happened, Doctor? The last time I intersected your timeline I sent you a warning via your companions. I tried following what happened and heard that some Cybermen had breached Ko Sharmus…and they just disappeared. And so did you. When I tried finding your newest companions again, they told me about the destruction of Gallifrey…and you sacrificing yourself to stop the Master. They didn’t know if you survived...”

As he talked, her eyes had slid away from him and she suddenly felt as if she was being overwhelmed in the Matrix again. She bit her lip and focused on the TARDIS, the comforting, familiar sounds of the control room.

Jack felt himself grow cold as he watched his old friend clearly struggling to keep it together. It wasn’t a look he’d ever seen on the Doctor. It scared him because it meant that whatever happened was worse than anything the Doctor had ever experienced. All he could do was enfold her in a hug, providing some long-overdue comfort to the distraught blonde.

He felt her fist her hands in his coat at his back. “I ran. Just like I always do,” she said, a barely noticeable hitch in her voice. Jack pulled away and listened as she related that the Master had destroyed Gallifrey and killed everyone on the planet. How he’d led the Cybermen there and then created Cybermen-Time Lord hybrids, how Ko Sharmus had taken the bomb she had planned to kill the Master and his creations with. How she had stolen another TARDIS and managed to find her own, only to be apprehended by the Judoon and been transported to prison. She skillfully managed to avoid talking about what she'd seen while being trapped in the Matrix. She wasn't quite ready to share the Timeless Child reveal with anyone.

“And you could never find out what you were sent to prison for?” he asked, frowning.

She shook her head. “There was nothing in any of the records I managed to access. And no one I on staff I asked could seem to agree on which one of my myriad “crimes” was responsible.”

Then she looked up at him, a steely glint in her eyes. “But I intend to find out. And I need to find out what happened to the Master, and the humans I sent back home along with my fam.”

“Ah, there’s the Doctor we know and love,” Jack joked.

The blonde scrunched her nose at him. “So, how did my TARDIS end up with you? How did you get here? And what’s the story with the prison break? Where is the TARDIS taking us?”

Jack laughed. “I can’t believe it took you so long to ask. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re losing your touch.”

She punched his shoulder. “Shut up. And let me up. You can tell me while I take a bath. I really need a proper soak in a TARDIS tub.”

Jack let loose a wolf whistle and started to run his gaze down her body. She stopped him with a playful glare. “Keep dreaming. You can sit outside the bathroom and talk!”

The Doctor had relented and the TARDIS had let Jack in the bathroom to sit with his back against the bathtub as she enjoyed a soak in near-boiling water. It helped that he had brought her tea, fish and chips he had conjured from somewhere and a whole packet of custard creams. She was pretty sure that the latter was courtesy of the TARDIS.

Fragrant rose petals, rainbow bubbles and thick clouds of steam filled the room. Only the Doctor’s head was visible above the water, her hair wrapped in a fluffy, white towel. She shifted and folded her arms onto the bath’s edge above Jack’s head, planting her head on them.

“...so the next thing I know, there’s a blue Police Box in my bedroom, with her usual loud wheeze..”

The Doctor laughed fondly.

“So you can guess that my guest got the fright of his life and couldn’t be convinced to stay. For a minute or two I expected you to come bounding out. But when there was just silence, I had to put on some clothes and then TARDIS opened her doors. I was barely inside when she took off and, minutes later, I found myself on 21st century Earth, in Sheffield of all places.” Jack threw her a look.

“Luckily I wasn’t confused for long, because not a few minutes later, I spotted Yaz barrelling across the square from her apartment to the TARDIS. She kept asking “Is she here? Is she okay?” and pushing past me to get into the TARDIS. It took some doing to calm her down and figure out what was going on. Once she’d related your adventures, I realized that you could actually be in real trouble.”

“The TARDIS must have been worried too because she let me figure out how to use the scanners and I started looking for you. But no dice. For two whole months. But then we heard a whisper that a notorious Time Lord had been imprisoned, so we started checking out prisons. It was during recon in this sector of the universe that my path crossed with Zephyr and Föhn and their group of freedom fighters.”

“Swift, the inmate you helped break out, is their leader. He is former royalty of their planet, Arietes. The planet, which is rich in natural resources became the target of an intergalactic conglomerate. They managed to buy out a substantial number of votes on the planet’s council and ended up taking over the planet and turning half of it into an industrial park and the other into a tourist trap. A faction of the Cervus, the planet’s native people, are trying to get their planet back. Freeing Swift, who was apparently unjustly imprisoned thanks to a Judoon contract, was one of their final steps. So, since the TARDIS and I were planning to visit this prison anyway, we aided their rescue efforts. You seem to have rubbed off on her," he laughed.

“Such a wonderful Old Girl,” the Doctor said, fondly patting the side of the bath, which she considered part of the TARDIS. The lights dipped and there was a whisper in the air, acknowledging the Doctor’s remark.

Jack looked up at the Doctor, smiling the fond smile she reserved only for the TARDIS and sighed. “The madwoman and her blue box. I now absolutely believe you two are inseparable. And that she is clearly sentient and just as stubborn and reckless as you.”

The Doctor whacked him in the face with her loofah in mock indignation. “Oi!”

He laughed, tugging the towel off her hair to dry his sopping wet face and hair.

With a face full of towel, he felt her lean down and wrap her arms around his shoulders. “Thanks, Jack. That you were willing to trust the TARDIS. I…I was in a really bad situation.”

He didn’t say anything or move, afraid to end this uncharacteristically serious and fragile moment.

Then the Doctor broke it by moving away, standing, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her in smooth, swift movements.

By the time he managed to free himself from the towel she had sneakily wrapped around his head, she was out the door and already in some part of the TARDIS wardrobe, looking for a new outfit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once I started, I couldn't stop. When I decided to finally post this story late this afternoon, I had to review it and ended up editing and rewriting chapters 2 and 3 (the only bits of the story that are currently written). So you guys get three chapters in one go. Now I'll have to outline (and write) the rest of the chapters. I'll try to get update this story at least once a week, probably over the weekend.
> 
> I ended up writing quite a fluffy chapter, heavy on Jack and the Doctor. But I needed his explanation out of the way and some background information before we could continue with the story. 
> 
> I can totally imagine that the TARDIS would go looking for Jack if the Doctor ever needed help. He's resourceful, clever and fearless enough to chance the TARDIS' temperament. 
> 
> I chose Jack over River because I felt like River would be too complicated. I wasn't sure where in her timeline I could put meeting Thirteen. I am a huge Eleven/River shipper and, since I know most of dialogue of The Husbands of River Song off by heart (having watched it probably about 10 times by now), you can also safely assume that I'm a fan of Twelve x River and their assuredly fabulous time together on Darillium. I've also never written F/F fiction, so I didn't think I'd be able to do Thirteen x River justice.
> 
> And I think most Whovians are hoping that Jack does show up in Revolution of the Daleks or season 13 and we finally get to see him and Thirteen interact!!!
> 
> Getting back to the story, I think Jack will make a good go-between for the fam and the Doctor, since he knows a lot about the Doctor and has travelled through time and space enough to know a lot more about the Doctor's history than she tends to tell her companions. Jack will be able to help them understand what she's going through since she is obviously no good at talking about her feelings or asking for help for anything personal.
> 
> As ever, comments and constructive criticism welcome! And knowledgable Whovians, feel free to correct any lore I get wrong. I'm googling as I go along.


	4. An important pitstop

“So there’s an amusement park on your planet? I love them,” the Doctor said with a grin, jauntily swinging her legs. She was perched on the TARDIS console, facing the stairs, where the three Cervus sat and recounted what had happened to their planet.

The trio glanced at each other and Zephyr continued, “Ordinarily, we also would not object, but it’s little better than a slave camp. At first, it seemed like a great opportunity, but once everything was up and running, the Conglomerate started wiping villages off the map. ‘Clearing space’ for expansions, they explained. ‘Relocating people’ to safer, more abundant areas. But those people were never seen again. Our spies have witnessed this such a campaign. Soldiers in gleaming armour indiscriminately killing everyone. The tourists have no idea, everything seems perfect. And those Cervus who work at the Park are kept out of the loop. They’re drugged or brainwashed to ensure the façade of perfection continues. Dissenters are killed. At least those we can’t rescue or get to in time once they’ve escaped.”

The brunette deer-girl had a hard look on her face. The Doctor recognized it better than she’d like to admit. It was the face of someone who had seen too much suffering and death but couldn’t grieve because they had to fight.

Jack glanced at the Doctor, who had grown unusually still, and saw the dark look on _her_ face. He’d seen it before on her previous regenerations' faces. And it spelt death and destruction for those she considered enemies. And he knew that she wouldn’t rest until the Cervus had their planet back and the Conglomerate had paid for their inhumane actions. A brief, fond smile flashed across his face before he frowned again. Although she moved better than when she’d arrived on the TARDIS a few hours ago, there was still stiffness in her posture that meant that she was more injured than he’d thought.

He watched as she shifted with a slight wince, which cleared her dark expression, and wondered if she’d been to the med-bay yet. After she’d cheated him out of a look at her clad in only a towel, he’d headed off to find the Cervus. The Doctor had joined them about fifteen minutes later, looking a lot more like her energetic self. She was wearing a pair of dark blue bootleg pants and brown lace-up boots and paired it with a white long-sleeved shirt and a dark, v-neck vest with a colourful rainbow motif across the chest. A blue-greyish coat was tied around her waist. She gathered her hair up in a surprisingly stylish messy bun with a red clip shaped like a bowtie.

“So who exactly _is_ this Conglomerate you keep mentioning?” the Doctor asked, an edge to her voice betraying her dark thoughts.

Swift, clearing picking up on the fact that they had a new ally, spoke up, his voice a deep, gravelly rumble. “As far as we’ve been able to establish, it is a group of intergalactic corporations, with interests spanning everything from manufacturing to entertainment. The CEOs consist of a mix of shady businessmen, criminals and politicians. We haven’t been able to find out much about their President, as upper management are rarely seen.”

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment, then seemed to shake herself out of it and smiled at them. “I’d be more than happy to help my saviours. It’s just what I need to get back into the swing of things!”

Swift stood up and extended his hand. “We’d be happy for any aid you can offer, especially after seeing your magnificent ship and resources…uh...” He paused as he realized that the blonde stranger had swept them up in conversation and no introduction had been made.

The Doctor took his hand. “I’m the Doctor. At your service,” she said, giving his hand a few quick, firm shakes.

All three Cervus froze. “ _The_ Doctor?” Föhn enquired in a tremulous voice. “The one and only,” the Doctor answered cheekily.

The Cervus turned to Jack. “I thought you meant she was just _a_ doctor. Like an ex-girlfriend who got arrested while working on the wrong side of the frontline of some war or in a shady clinic.” Zephyr babbled.

Jack moved from where he’d been leaning against a rail and threw his arm around the Doctor’s shoulders. “Ooooh no. The Doctor is one-of-a-kind. We go waaay back, but we never dated,” he stated with a charming smile. “Not that I didn’t try.” He winked at the Doctor and she smacked him on the chest with a playful smile.

“But the Doctor’s a myth. An _old_ one,” Zephyr stammered.

Both the Doctor and Jack’s smiles grew. “I’ve been around a long time.” “She’s been around a long time.” They both spoke at the same time and then grinned at each other.

Swift seemed to recover from the shock first. There was no denying what they’d seen since Jack had brought them to the ship. And the ship and all the wonderful things on it were clearly hers as she moved with an easy confidence and navigated the room with great familiarity. And he could see the wisdom and authority in her eyes. He could see the great strength that kept her functioning on a normal level despite just having been rescued from that horrible prison after more than two years. He’d seen the expression in her eyes as Zephyr talked. She’d lost loved ones and seen atrocities, experienced wars. His gut-feeling was telling him to trust her.

The minotaur moved into a barely noticeable bow. “If even a handful of the stories about the Doctor is to be believed, we would be most honoured and grateful for your assistance.”

The Doctor waved him off. “No, no. I believe in returning favours. And kindnesses.” At the last words, she smiled at Zephyr. The deer-girl ducked her head and shyly smiled back, clearly still awed at the revelation that the hero of her favourite bedtime stories was real.

“But first, would you mind if we stopped somewhere for a sec’? I need to tell some friends of mine, I’m still alive.” The Doctor did not look thrilled at the prospect.

The TARDIS materialized in her favourite spot near Yaz’s flat with her usual wheeze. The Doctor was feeling a little rusty after two years of not flying the TARDIS and wasn’t quite sure when they’d landed, so she checked the monitor. The TARDIS was apparently feeling generous because it was approximately a week after she’d said goodbye to her fam. If their TARDIS had taken them to the date she’d programmed.

The Doctor took a deep breath, feeling slightly nervous. Not that she’d ever admit to it. She turned and strolled decidedly to the TARDIS doors, intending to see if Yaz was home and then having her call the other two.

That turned out to be quite unnecessary. She’d only taken a few steps towards Yaz’s flat when she saw all three members of the Fam running towards her. Well, Yaz was running. Ryan and Graham were following at a fast walk.

The dark-haired teen barrelled into the Doctor’s chest, throwing her arms around the blonde and eliciting an involuntary groan of pain from her. Yaz sprang away from her, apologizing and wiping tears from her face before the two men reached them.

“Still alive then, Doc?” Graham asked wryly.

The Doctor smiled wanly, pressing a hand against her chest due to the renewed pain of her cracked ribs.

“How long’s it been, Doctor?” Ryan asked with a serious expression. “Coz you look a lot different.”

At his remark, Yaz took a closer look at her friend. “Is your hair longer? Why are you so thin?” she gasped, concern filling her eyes. Her eyes grew bigger. “Did I hurt you? What’s wrong?”

“Just some cracked ribs that are still healing, Yaz,” the Doctor tried to reassure her. It only made her look more horrified and apologise again.

The blonde looked at her Fam and swallowed back a lump of emotion. “I missed my Fam,” she said quietly. Then louder, “Team TARDIS.”

“I thought we’d settled on Fam?” Ryan quipped.

The Doctor laughed out of pure happiness and gathered her Fam together for a group hug. Hugs were great for hiding your face. She blinked away any threat of tears then stepped back.

“I owe you an explanation,” she said, shocking her Fam. “So, Graeme, tea at your house?”

Graeme blinked, then smiled. “I have custard creams?” he offered.

The Doctor gave him one of her warmest smiles. “Brilliant!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, dear readers!
> 
> Sorry for the late update. Work and winter...and a bit of writer's block is to blame. I started this story on a whim so I actually had to sit down and write an outline for where this is going. This was a problem as I hadn't figured out who exactly my villains were going to be and my entirely non-canon explanations of Whovians' most burning post-s12 questions: Why was the Doctor arrested? And did the Master survive? And what about the Cyberium?  
> Luckily, my rough outline is done, so I just need to regularly sit down and write. Especially so I can give you guys an idea of how many chapters you'll be along for the ride.
> 
> This is a slighter shorter chapter because it seemed like the best place to stop before we head into all the drama on Arietes, Planet of the Deer(people)!
> 
> But, finally, enter the Fam! Apologies for the lack of action in this chapter, but this is important for setting up the story. From the next chapter, we'll get to all the running, sonicking and more sass.
> 
> PS. Thanks for all the Kudos and comments. They encourage me to keep writing and make me sooo happy!


	5. There's something in the water

“You’re back for five minutes and you invite us to an _evil_ amusement park?” Yaz asked, meeting Ryan’s equally amused eyes over the Doctor’s head.

“It’s not evil, Yaz. It was just built by some bad people. Okay, well it _could_ be evil. I haven’t been there,” the Doctor said, half-turning towards Yaz.

Yaz, who was cutting the Doctor’s hair with Graham’s kitchen scissors, turned the Doctor’s head back and resumed snipping.

Once the Doctor had briefly explained what had happened since they’d last seen each other, eating a large bowl full of custard creams in the process, Yaz had offered to cut her hair. Graham kept offering her more food. She could see the worry in their faces, which made her think that she must look worse than she felt. The Doctor quite enjoyed living in denial and was determined to do so for a while longer. She had a new goal to keep her occupied: helping her new friends reclaim their planet. And exploring an amusement park she hasn’t been to. She was also determined to find out what had happened to Gallifrey…and the Master. Hopefully, this adventure would be an opportunity for reconnaissance. The Cervus did say the Conglomerate was intergalactic and filled with criminals. Someone _had_ to know something about the Master.

And the fam, despite their previous horrific experience with the Cybermen, were willing to come with her and help. She could see it in their faces. Well, in Graham’s and Ryan’s at least, since Yaz was still finishing up with her hair.

Graham answered for the group. “Well, Doc. Any friends of yours are friends of ours. Especially since they rescued you.”

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed. “I kind of feel like we owe them one.”

The Doctor gave them one of her bright grins. “Well, then, once Yaz is done and you’re all packed, we can head off.”

“You’re giving us time to pack? That’s new,” Ryan remarked.

“I _can_ be considerate at times,” the Doctor said, a trace of indignation in her voice. “Plus, I don’t know if the planet’s food will be suitable for humans, and I don’t want Graham to accuse of me of making him adventure on an empty stomach,” she joked.

Graham chuckled. “I’ll pack a hamper with sandwiches. We are going to an amusement park after all. Maybe we can have a nice restful picnic.”

Yaz snorted. “With our luck, the Doctor will inadvertently insult someone and we’ll end up having our picnic in the TARDIS.”

* * *

“I told you so,” Yaz shouted as she swerved around a squat pink humanoid holding a ball of cotton candy almost as tall as he was.

Ryan dodged a dog-like female with purple hair pushing a stroller and glanced behind him. “There are, like, 20 guys chasing us. They’re going to corner us soon if we don’t shake them,” he panted.

Graham glanced at the two youngers ahead of him and frowned at the Doctor. Her blonde hair was whipping back and forth as she scanned the surrounding amusement park attractions, eyes narrowed and expression serious. “Doc, you really didn’t need to be so aggressive with that ambassador,” Graham admonished her.

The Doctor ignored his remark and swerved towards a likely building, motioning for her companions to turn the next corner and then made them duck behind some of the amusement park props leaning against a wall. They held their breaths as the guards barrelled past, then the Doctor pulled out her sonic and opened a nearby door.

She dashed in and ran headlong into Jack. “Woah, there,” he said, grabbing her by the arms to steady her. He took one look at the three behind her, pulled her closer and motioned them inside, before closing the door.

“ _What_ are you _wearing_?” Yaz burst out as soon as she caught her breath.

With great reluctance, Jack released the Doctor when she glared at him. He looked down at the skimpy Roman-like armour and puffed out his chest with a confident grin. “I’m a tourist attraction. Their version of a Roman centurion.”

The Doctor snorted with laughter and Jack frowned at her. “I knew a real Roman centurion. And he would have laughed at you as well.” There was a flash of something vulnerable and wistful in her eyes, which made Jack swallow his next words and throw an arm around her shoulders, just to rile her up a bit.

“Well, this outfit is great for recon,” he said instead. “People don’t mind stopping to chat with me. They tell me _all_ sorts of things,” he continued, with a slight smirk at the Doctor.

She tolerated his arm for a moment, before shaking it off and scrunching her nose at him. “I’ll bet,” she said dryly and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

The Fam took in this exchange with a sort of bemused puzzlement. They’d never seen someone flirt that outrageously with the Doctor…well, they’d never seen someone flirt with the Doctor period. And she was actually _allowing_ it.

“So who did you insult?” Jack asked the Doctor, who ignored him as well and was peering around at the storeroom.

She started to rifle through the boxes as Graham answered. “We were just strolling through the amusement park, as planned…” he threw a disgruntled look at the Doctor, who didn’t notice. “…when this puffed-up bigwig started dragging this deer-girl around and shouting. Before we knew it, the Doc was in his face and pointing her sonic at him. She told the deer-girl to scurry off and then started insulting him. Turns out blue slug people don’t like to be told they resemble slugs. And then we found out he was some kind of ambassador and he had a whole squad of security people who weren’t too pleased with any of us.”

The four companions turned to the Doctor only to find that she’d moved into the next room and was cheerfully making friends with Jack’s fellow Roman warriors and wearing a plumed helmet.

“Does she seem okay to you? I know she likes helping people, but she seems more aggressive about it since we last saw her,” Yaz remarked softly to Jack as they watched the Doctor rummage around in the wardrobe and excitedly extract a red fez. She exchanged it with the helmet, which a half-clothed Roman gratefully accepted. Jack glanced at the teen, then looked back at the Doctor. “After what she’s been through…especially what she’s _not_ telling us…she isn’t. But she will be. The Doctor always is in the end. Just stick close to her,” he said, snaking an arm around her back and then playfully pushing her towards the fez-wearing blonde.

* * *

After exchanging their outfits for something more inconspicuous, the group had split up and chatted to the amusement park employees in the Roman House and neighbouring attractions. A few hours later they were all sitting sipping the Romans' version of hot chocolate, seated on crates in the storeroom. Graham was munching on a sandwich, while the younger companions were casting dubious looks at the amusement park fare Jack had procured for them.

Jack watched the Doctor absent-mindedly rub the antlers on her Cervus hat and take a bite out of her tentacled funnel cake. The adorable brunette wig-hat was the only way the others could persuade her to take off the fez. It was a surprisingly cute look on her, he mused and tugged on one of the ebony strands. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

He winked at her, satisfied that her attention was back on him and continued the report of his findings. “The park manager is a Cervus named Khamsin. He not a pleasant fellow and most people try to keep their heads down and stay out of their way. Once you're called in to see him, you're never seen in the park again. The employees seem to think he fires people and sends them home. I, on the other hand, suspect something a lot more sinister. 

“So, we need to ask the former Cervus king about him when Swift introduces us tomorrow,” the Doctor stated. Jack and the others nodded in agreement.

“I chatted to some of the girls in the kitchen when I was helping and they have no idea what’s going on on the rest of the planet. They’re just happy to have food and a roof over their heads. They send money back home every month,” Yaz noted.

“I heard the same. Things were so bad the last few years that no one seems to care who is running this place,” Ryan agreed.

“And those who want to go see their families or start asking questions just disappear. Just like Zephyr told us in the TARDIS and Jack confirmed now,” the Doctor said, glancing at the latter.

Jack nodded. “And there seems to be some kind of chemical or drug in the water the employees are allowed to drink. This keeps most of them passive or in a kind of happy trance.”

The Doctor looked disgusted. “We need to find a way to shut this place down. But I have a feeling that we first need to sort out what’s happening in the rural areas. This is the only place the Cervus are currently safe.”

Jack hummed in agreement. “Yeah, if we don’t stop the Conglomerate’s killing squad and we set the amusement park employees free, they will most likely be slaughtered once they get home.”

There was silence for a moment as everyone in the room contemplated the horrible situation.

Graham spoke up first. “Well, it’s no use us just sitting around here. I’m going to pop around and see if anyone knows anything about this Conglomerate. Maybe some of the members hang around here.”

Jack sat up a little straighter. “Yeah, if someone starts asking questions about them, they might just come out of the woodwork. I’ll follow you and see if I can spot anyone who starts paying you extra attention.”

The Doctor frowned in concern but begrudgingly conceded. “I don’t much like you playing bait, Graham, but a “harmless old man” asking strange questions is a much better play than drawing attention like we did this morning.”

Graham snorted indignantly at the “old man” comment but agreed with the sentiment.

Yaz’s eyes widened in surprise as the Doctor came perilously close to admitting she’d been wrong, but then her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What are _you_ planning to do, Doctor?”

The Doctor suddenly assumed an innocent air. “I thought I’d sneak to their operations room or tinker a bit with their radio tower. I want to see who they’re communicating with and if I can trace it to the Conglomerate.”

Jack shook his head exasperatedly. “You know if you make something explore, it’s just going to make the situation worse?”

The blonde scrunched her nose at him. “I’m not planning on exploding anything,” she said sweetly.

He continued to stare at her accusingly until she held her palms out towards him defensively and slid her eyes to Yaz. “Okay, okay. I’ll try not to tinker too much. I’ll take Yaz with.”

Jack smiled at her, then stood up, straightening the sexy centurion outfit he was still wearing and turned to Graham. “I need to clock in in a few minutes to keep my cover, so we’d better head out.”

As the retired bus driver followed Jack out, the Doctor turned to Ryan. “Someone needs to stay here and let us know when Swift arrives. You can be our home base communications officer!" she said brightly.

The teen nodded then met Yaz’s eyes. “Keep an eye on her,” he said, tilting his head towards the Doctor. “I am not up for more running if she makes something explode.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, dear readers!
> 
> Sorry for the long wait! I'm going through a busy and stressful time at work and struggled to find the energy to write. When I finally wrote this chapter a few days ago, I wasn't sure if there was enough action and wanted to rewrite before posting. But I decided to go for it and see what you guys think. Let me know if the pacing is okay or if I need to speed things up more. This is the longest piece of continuous fiction I've written in 14 years and with the previous original fiction I've written, the comments were that my pacing was too fast. Now I feel like I'm doing the exact opposite.
> 
> The good news is that I'm halfway through the next chapter, so I am aiming to post it before the end of the week. I'm seeing my parents (or actually any of my family) for the first time in seven months due to lockdown regulations, so I'm not planning to write this weekend.
> 
> As a bonus/thank you for reading, commenting and kudos, you guys are welcome to send me suggestions/prompts that you'd like to see in the story. (Before writing my outline I toyed with the idea of putting the Doctor in a dress at some sort of celebration and letting Jack and other guys flirt with her and just enjoy her awkwardness....and then maybe even adding some pre-Library, pre-Darillium River. Who knows...I may extend the storyline and still add it.) I'll sift through them and see what I can fit into the storyline.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. A disturbing discovery

The Doctor perched precariously on the edge of the Haunted House roof and stretched an arm towards a camouflaged communications tower. Yaz leaned over the edge of a nearby turret and tried not to look down.

“Get anything, Doctor?” she softly called.

“Almost,” the blonde answered, pulling out a wire and waving the sonic over it. She scanned the sonic’s display and started murmuring to herself.

Yaz bounced on her toes nervously as the Doctor unconsciously shifted closer to the tower and the edge of the roof. “Careful, Doctor!” she whisper-shouted at the Time Lord.

The Doctor glanced back at the brunette and seemed to notice her precarious position for the first time. “No worries,” she smiled back at Yaz, quickly twisting towards the tower again. Yaz missed the quick flash of pain on the Doctor’s face as she strained her still-tender ribs. But the blonde dismissed the feeling as unimportant and continued her fiddling.

“Aha!” the Doctor said loudly, holding the sonic aloft in triumph and starting to stand up, forgetting where she was. She flailed her arms as she lost her balance and scrambled to stay on the roof. Yaz felt like her heart had stopped until the Doctor had scooted across the roof and climbed safely back into the tower.

Seemingly oblivious to Yaz’s distress, she smiled happily at the brunette. Yaz noted that the Doctor had unconsciously pressed a hand to her ribs and her face was a disturbing mixture of pain and excitement. “I got them! I just need to quickly pop back to the TARDIS. With her systems, it won’t take long to find out where the Conglomerate is based. I’m pretty sure she could. Well, we’ll at least find out who the person is that Khamsin the Park Manager is reporting to.”

Yaz sighed in relief. “And you managed to do it without making anything explode,” she remarked drily.

The Doctor looked guilty. “Well.” She drew out the word as she started climbing back through the window they’d unlocked to gain access to the roof. Yaz heard the distinct sound of electronics malfunctioning and the smell of burnt wires drifted down towards them. The teen quickly scrambled inside after the Doctor and tried to look innocent. And slightly scared. They were in a haunted house after all. She didn’t have to dig deep to fake looking scared. She still remembered the terror they had experienced during their time in the Cyberman-ravaged future.

* * *

“I didn’t make it explode. It just…malfunctioned. I needed to cover my tracks somehow,” the Doctor defended herself as Graham and Ryan looked sternly at her. Jack just smirked at her. She suppressed the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. He’d undoubtedly make her regret the action.

“And it didn’t seem to be a big deal. It’s not like security was stepped up or anything,” Yaz chimed in, although she still aimed a chiding look at the Doctor.

“No matter, we’re leaving for Shika Stronghold in a few hours,” Swift rumbled. The Cervus gulped down a tankard of water Jack had handed him. He rubbed a hand over his mouth. “I can’t risk drinking any water I travel past. We suspect they’re polluting the water with something that incapacitates or poisons Cervus specifically.”

The Doctor nodded. “We came to the same conclusion. Have you found out how they’re doing it?”

Swift twitched his sturdy forest-green cloak as he stood up and started pacing in the small space. “Yes. And plans are already underway to stop it. I have a feeling the King will ask you to weigh in on it,” he looked at Jack and the Doctor in turn.

“We’d be happy to,” the Doctor smiled at him.

Jack couldn’t resist. “So we’re a _we_ now, are we? And I _still_ haven’t even bought you that drink,” he joked, taking a step closer to her.

She cast him an exasperated look but addressed the Cervus. “I just need to swing by my TARDIS. I’m reasonably sure I can get more information about the Conglomerate or even track down their location.”

Swift came to a standstill. “That would be most welcome.” He gifted her with a slight smile. “We’ve received information that the Conglomerate is moving on the Eastern towns as they’re planning to expand the amusement park. We’re expecting an attack in the next few days.”

His audience reacted to this unexpected news with a moment of silence, then everyone started talking at once.

The Doctor held out a hand to silence them. Which, surprisingly, they did. She turned to Yaz, Ryan and Graham, “Yes, we’re staying. Of course we’re going to be helping. I’m still not sure who’s involved, but I have a feeling our talk with the King will be illuminating. Now, we’d best be heading back to the TARDIS so I can take a crack at finding the Conglomerate.”

Her look to Jack as she strode spoke volumes. “I’m staying,” he softly said. Her quick nod told him that she’d heard what he’d not said. _For you_.

* * *

Yaz watched the Doctor pet the TARDIS’ console and chat to her as she analysed whatever data she’d recovered from the communications satellite. Jack leaned against one of the room’s crystal features, keeping a hawk’s eye on her. Swift stood closer to the console and gave the Doctor confused and concerned looks as she seemingly monologued. After a few minutes, Jack took pity on him and claimed his attention by asking what Zephyr and Föhn were doing.

“Don’t you think she’s acting _too_ okay for someone who’s just escaped prison after two years?” Yaz asked. She had a feeling that Jack had the same suspicion and was watching the Doctor to intervene before she cracked.

Ryan shifted in his perch on the stairs next to Graham. “I’d worry if she was human. But maybe her species has a stronger constitution?” he ventured. His grandfather frowned. “She’s looking better than when we first saw her. But I agree with Yaz. I think she’s just focusing on something else for now. I’m sure she’ll talk to someone,“ his gaze drifted to Jack, “when she’s ready.”

Yaz also looked at Jack speculatively. She tilted her head. “Do you think he’d tell us more about the Doctor if we asked?”

“He looks like the kind of guy who knows a lot of dirt about a lot of people,” Ryan answered. “So I’m sure he’ll tell us some funny stories about her. Maybe something slightly incriminating. But nothing serious.”

Graham nodded in agreement. “Yeah, considering he finds snogging her an acceptable greeting I’m sure he’ll have plenty of interesting stories.”

* * *

They left the TARDIS with backpacks stuffed with things the Doctor thought they (mostly she) might need. Graham had wisely insisted they also take along water and human-friendly food. The Doctor had looked thoughtful and rummaged in one of her toolboxes, handing him a small portable water purifier that “might come in handy”.

Swift took them on a winding route with plenty of tree cover, making the companions glad they’d raided the TARDIS wardrobe for sturdy but comfortable boots. The Doctor took the time to grill the Cervus on the planet’s history, politics and current state, by turns amusing and amazing him with her questions. Jack contented himself with regaling the companions with a few of his funnier adventures and some interesting ones he had with the Doctor (Jack!), Rose (Jack!!) and River (NO, Jack!), to her great annoyance (she would never admit to embarrassment).

“For someone called ‘the Doctor’, you sure think like a warrior,” the Cervus remarked to the blonde, after a particularly disjointed line of enquiry that he realized had given her more information regarding their defences than he'd meant to. He saw her slightly stiffen out of the corner of his eye and a haunted expression flitted over her face. She made a conscious effort to relax, then smiled. “I’ve just been in a few extremely sticky situations recently. This time I’d like to know what my options are,” she replied. Her words were almost drowned by a hastily suppressed burst of raucous laughter from the three companions that (thankfully) distracted Swift from his comments.

The group trudged into the stronghold of the Cervus freedom fighters, tired but curious. The Doctor’s sharp eyes noted the hand-to-hand drills and weapons combat being performed by small groups of soldiers dispersed throughout the courtyard, the clang of what sounded like weapon forges and the general bustle of preparing of battle.

Cervus was immediately accosted by troops, who he answered quickly and concisely, before leading the five travellers up several flights of stairs and through a maze of rooms and corridors. Greetings and curious stares followed the group to what they surmised was the war room.

At the head of the table, a grizzled and imposing Cervus, flanked by two females, looked up at their entry. One of the females turned out to be Zephyr, who gave them a cheeky wave and greeted them with a smile in passing as she trotted off on an errand. The other had audibly gasped upon seeing the group and rushed the Doctor, throwing her arms around her neck in an enthusiastic hug. The Doctor bore it for a few seconds before gently detangling her and greeting her with a warm grin.

“Mistral! It’s good to see you safe and happy.”

The chestnut-coloured Cervus held the Doctor’s hands and was positively sparkling with happiness. “Doctor! I thought I’d never see you again!” she exclaimed.

She turned and beamed at the grizzled Cervus. “Papa! She’s the one that kept me safe in prison. The one I’ve been telling you about.”

The warrior inclined his head to the Doctor. “How fortuitous that my daughter’s saviour would also aid the Cervus’ cause! I am Boreas, the former king of Arietes. And the current commander of the Resistance.”

“Happy to help,” the Doctor replied with her usual bouncy enthusiasm, before introducing her companions. She ignored the weight of their curiosity over the circumstances of her and Mistral's acquaintance in favour of her own over the Cervus situation.

The group were quickly divested of their bags (“We’ll have them sent to your rooms.”) and offered refreshments (the Doctor digging in her coat pockets for biscuits to go with her tea) before they gathered around the massive hi-tech table in the centre of the room.

“So as far as my…ship’s systems can tell, the communications are coming from outside the planet’s orbit…” the Doctor explained at Swift's behest. The TARDIS had found that mostly the low-level members of the Conglomerate were operating on the planet. She echoed the Cervus suspicions that the mastermind was working behind the scenes, puppeteering the Conglomerate’s members.

“If you can tell me more about these attacks on the villages, it could help identify who is involved,” she concluded.

The King nodded. “They’ve moved so swiftly, unexpectedly, randomly and leave no witnesses that we’ve had trouble finding out what happened. Even our spies that got close disappeared. So, we ended up programming recon bots to roam the planet in grid patterns, hoping they would catch something. And yesterday we were finally successful. One of the bots got to a relay station and sent us footage of last week’s attack.” He waved a hand and holo-screen blinked on in the middle of the table. The group avidly stared at the screen, but their expressions quickly turned to horror.

The Doctor didn’t realize that she had swayed slightly and grabbed the table. She couldn’t look away, even when the screaming started. She didn’t notice that Jack had swiftly grabbed her around the waist and that she had leaned into him so that he was now effectively holding her up. His eyes were also still trained on the screen, his expression grimmer than any of the Doctor’s companions had seen.

The Fam, who had all instinctively moved closer to the Doctor at her initial reaction, were frozen in place in horror.

The room went quiet as the Cervus noted the group’s obvious recognition and unsettling reaction.

The screen had shown a typical rural village scene for a minute. Villagers went about their business until they started noticing and pointing out something in the distance. The sound of an army marching in step and the silver glint of metal in the distance resolved themselves into heavily armoured humanoid figures that the humans were all too familiar with. At the front was a figure that differed slightly from the rest, a ghastly-familiar metal collar framing its head – a CyberMaster.

“But how?” Yaz said, raw fear in her voice. “Weren’t all those Cybermen destroyed?”

The Doctor found that she couldn’t quite find _her_ voice. This was unexpected. Bad. Horrible, actually. Yet … brilliant. She hadn’t just found a clue here. She’d found a direct link to _him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I think I know where this is going, inspiration strikes and drags me in another direction...and adds more scenes. But I had so much fun writing this. In the next chapter, I'll be adding some angst and the fam finding out more about what the Doctor went through in prison. 
> 
> I'm trying not to make the Doctor and Jack too OOC, but not sure if I'm succeeding. I've made her depend on Jack and slightly more tolerant to physical contact because I can't see this bubbly Doctor not being touch-starved and craving companionship after two years of either isolation or constant abuse. She's not like Eleven who was most definitely anti-social. I think his experience in the Confession Dial translated into Thirteen being more susceptible to loneliness.
> 
> As always, thank you for your kudos and comments. Your support makes me sooo happy and fuels my muse!
> 
> Ps. Writing this without a beta. I am an editor IRL but it's always difficult to edit your own stuff, so excuse any mistakes. I will find them when rereading this later.


	7. The Doctor dances again

“That means he's here somewhere,” the Doctor murmured, her posture straightening. She was staring unseeingly at the frozen frame on the holo-screen showing a battalion of Cybermen led by a CyberMaster attacking a Cervus village. Her mind was racing. If a CyberMaster survived, it _must_ mean that the Master escaped as well. Her emotions battled between fury for what he'd put her through and killing the people she'd considered hers, and happiness that someone from _home_ had survived. Someone that knew more about her than anyone else.

Jack’s gaze ripped from the screen and he frowned at her. He’d let go of her as soon as he’d felt her steady on her feet, not willing to push his luck in their current situation. The fierce expression that had replaced the horror on her face was something he hadn’t seen on the Doctor in a long time and he knew it didn’t bode well for anyone.

“Cybermen?” the King questioned. Jack turned to him. “In a nutshell, Cybermen are emotionless metal warriors with laser guns. They were originally humanoid but due to various reasons “upgraded” themselves to nearly indestructible bodies and suppressed their emotions, which they consider a weakness. Their goal is to convert all compatible species and destroy everything and everyone else.”

“ _Nearly_ indestructible. So there are ways to defeat them?” Swift asked with a frown.

Jack nodded. “Yes. There are several different groups of Cybermen, but they usually have a few things in common. And, unfortunately, the only way to gauge their specific weakness is trial and error. Even worse, if these are the Cybermen we think they are, they may be able to adapt to anything that we throw at them. Meaning an attack will only be effective once or twice.”

The Doctor gave a slight shake of her head, seemingly tuning back into the conversation and smoothly continued Jack’s explanation.

“Gold can scramble their systems and sonic technology can slow them down. At close range energy and laser weapons are effective. At long range incineration and EMPs sometimes work.” The Doctor’s face was grim. “In my experience, disabling their neural or emotional inhibitor is often the most effective way to put an end to their assault.”

Swift looked at the Doctor. She _was_ a warrior. A cunning and dangerous one, if he had the measure of her. But he had also seen centuries of compassion and regret in her eyes. Someone willing to fight for what she believed in, for her loved ones, for what was right. Luck was truly on their side during that prison break, to bring them someone that could win this war. He shared a glance with the King beside him and could tell that he was thinking along the same lines.

Jack glanced at the Doctor and tagged in. “You’ll need to be careful if they self-destruct. They’ve been known to employ this tactic to release spores that resurrect fallen soldiers as Cybermen. And their current Cyber Leader is a whole new problem.”

The Doctor nodded. “CyberMasters…they can heal and resurrect themselves. I’m not sure how many times. If they follow the rules…it could even be as many as twelve times.”

Swift and the King exchanged concerned glances. “I assume you’ve faced these immortal….CyberMasters before?” Swift said.

“Once,” the Doctor said bitterly. “And I’d hoped them destroyed. All life was wiped out on a planet in the attempt.”

The Fam were worriedly watching the Doctor, knowing that everything and everyone on the planet she called home was now dead. They had not yet had the heart to ask her about it…and now it may be too late to talk her down from the dangerous ledge she was climbing onto.

“We’ve all come across them some time or other. The Doctor more than most,” Jack said. “Fact is, the Cybermen are here and it’s essential that they are stopped as soon as possible.”

The King motioned to a few of his officers, who scrambled out of the room. “We’ll need to start working on a tactic now as it seems our troops will have to be trained in new tactics and weaponry.”

Jack leaned on the table. “We’ll need to see what you have and how we can adapt it.”

A high-ranking Cervus officer nodded and strode around the table to hand Jack a tablet with an inventory list. The Doctor didn’t move to look at it, instead aiming a look at the King.

“If the CyberMasters are here, then I am reasonably certain who the mastermind behind the Conglomerate is,” she said, her voice strong and certain, with an undertone of fierce happiness.

The companions, who had all drifted closer to Jack and the inventory list, looked at her in surprise and with no small amount of worry. The Master had essentially kidnapped her, killed all her people and then, as far as they knew, tried to kill her too. Not to mention that he had tried killing them all and helped aliens almost take over the Earth. Why would she be _happy_?

“I was planning on looking for him once I’d helped you liberate your planet. Now I can kill two birds with one stone…or rather trap one Master with something clever and unexpected,” she said with dangerous kind of glee.

“Are we missing something, Doctor?” Yaz asked. “Yeah, why would you go looking for someone that tried to kill us. Tried to kill _you_. More than once,” Ryan agreed.

“I can’t let him run loose with those….CyberMasters. Or the Cyberium. He’s already dangerous enough without those. And I have a few favours to return,” she answered, almost as if making a promise to herself.

* * *

The Doctor and Jack were tinkering with some equipment in one of the workshops and the three companions were sharing what they knew about Cybermen with the Cervus when the King received a message. It was an electronic invitation, coded for him only, delivered through a secure channel that had Föhn, the Resistance’s best hacker, frowning in vexation and muttering.

The Conglomerate was hosting a glamorous party celebrating the one-year anniversary of the amusement park’s opening and it's great success. It was scheduled for the next evening and stated that everyone who had had a hand in the enterprise’s success would be invited. It conveyed that the Conglomerate would be ever so flattered if the former King would attend and carried the implication that attendance was mandatory or there would be Consequences. The whole room could sense the capital letter and the subtext that refusal could lead to unpleasantness to an extreme degree for the Resistance, or even the Cervus as a whole.

‘The invited guest is more than welcome to bring extra guests, as there will be plenty of room. The dress code is black tie and it would be much appreciated if all animosity and weaponry were left at the entrance,’ the invite continued, in polite tones. ‘So sorry for the short notice. The recipient had to understand that it was _so_ hard to track the King down due to his recent _activities_. But no need to reply, they were sure he’d not miss this wonderful and joyous event,’ a personal postscript indicated.

“It could be a trap,” Swift stated.

“It could be the only way we get more intel,” an officer countered.

“It could be our best chance for a bit of sabotage,” Zephyr gleefully remarked. The officers looked at their junior sternly as she spoke out of turn.

“Possibly, it’s all three,” the King calmly said. “So, it would be wisest to go.”

“But Sir, they have to know that you currently lead the only resistance to their plans,” one of the officers protested.

“Exactly. I may be able to negotiate, or at the least find out more about their plans,” the King said with authoritative finality.

“And yes, I will take an entourage,” he forestalled Swift. The King glanced around and spotted Yaz, waving the teen over.

“Young Yaz, Zephyr and the Doctor can accompany me. People often underestimate women and that will serve us well in this instance. Yaz and the Doctor will be able to identify possible enemies, while Zephyr can take a crack at their systems. A few of the Special Ops guys can act as my security team,” the King ordered.

The officers relaxed slightly and nodded in ascent, one already scurrying to notify the king’s newly appointed security team.

“I’m guessing we’re going to need more suitable attire?” Zephyr said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“I think we can help with that,” Yaz said brightly.

* * *

“Doctor, are you alright?” Yaz asked as they browsed the TARDIS’ expansive wardrobe. The Doctor still looked a little too thin and pale and Yaz could see her ribs still hurt from the unconscious wincing when she jolted them, but she was currently freshly scrubbed. She and Jack had spent the whole day covered in dust, grease and other substances native to workshops everywhere. They had managed to scavenge a few useful weapons and create a few more, teaching the blacksmiths and technicians how to replicate them.

Just after lunch, Yaz and Zephyr had come looking for her, insisting that they needed a few hours to get party-ready and that it would not do for the Doctor just to find herself a half-decent tuxedo this time. They needed to be properly undercover.

The Doctor had pointed out that the Master would know if she was close. Yaz had given her a stubborn look and replied that that was no reason for her to make it easy for him to recognise her. The Doctor had scrunched her nose and relented to wearing a dress, stipulating that she would not be wearing heels and that she had to be able to run in said dress. Without the possibility of her tripping over her hem. Yaz had rolled her eyes and told the Doctor not to expect the impossible.

Currently, the Doctor was shoulder-deep in a large rack of ballgowns. She replied to Yaz’s question with a slight smile that the teen didn’t see. “I’m always alright,” she answered, her words slightly muffled. Yaz opened her mouth to disagree when Jack’s voice sounded a few racks down. “I found the perfect dress for you!”

* * *

Barely four hours later several of their plans had gone wrong.

The Doctor shivered as the Master’s feverish fingertips touched the bare skin of her shoulder. He smiled maniacally at her as he steered her onto the dancefloor. “No, no, no, Doctor. It’s either a dance with me while we chat, or I kill one of your deer. Or your precious human pet,” he threatened when she tried to stand her ground. He pulled her close, putting a hand on the small of her back. She felt waves of feverish heat roll of him.

“The Cyberium is killing you,” she said, looking into his eyes intently. She could see he was sick and could hear his erratic heartbeats.

 _Now, now Doctor. Aren’t you all doom and gloom_ , the Master said over a psychic link.

She obligingly went into a surprisingly graceful twirl as he spun her. _But I’m right_ , she replied matter-of-factly.

He grinned down at her, pulling her closer. _I’m pretty hard to kill. As you are well aware_ , he countered.

 _I must say I didn’t expect you to look so…lovely_ , the Master said pensively, staring her up and down in a way that made her skin crawl. _I expected you to be a bit more...broken. Prison tends to do that to even the bravest. Although I can see traces of your suffering._ He traced the line of her jaw with a finger, speaking aloud. “Hunger.” Then swept a thumb under her eyes. “Insomnia.” He tightened his arm around her waist. “Pain. Ribs still tender?” he mocked.

The Doctor tried not to squirm as she finally focused on the fact that she was still recovering from injury and far from her top form. She had never felt more female. And vulnerable. She wasn’t fond of the experience. Especially when faced with the Master.

Between them, Jack and Yaz had coaxed her into a sleeveless, muted gold dress. Lace covered her from neck to sweetheart neckline, making the low neckline more demure. The gold shimmered slightly as it hugged her slim form to just below her hips and then flared (so that you can still run comfortably). She was wearing matching gold wedge heels (that were surprisingly comfortable) and elbow-length gloves.

The Master glanced at her companions, who were currently looking at the blonde in his arms in concern. He grinned as he met the Cervus King’s eyes, who was (for all appearances) chatting and drinking wine. “Well, I’m always one for a bit of mayhem. Let’s cause a _stir_ ,” he said, staring deep into the Doctor eyes.

Then he kissed her, hard, just as she opened her mouth for an angry retort.

Before she could pull away, he had enfolded her face in his hands and had deepened the kiss. She glared at him with narrowed eyes and when she angrily pushed at him for a second time, he let her go. The damage was done by now anyway.

“We haven’t done _that_ in a while,” he smirked, then grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her to one of the room’s balconies. The Doctor levelled another glare at him, then straightened and attempted to glide past him self-confidently and gracefully. This just made his smirk widen.

She whirled on him in fury as soon as the glass door had clicked shut behind them. “What exactly are you planning?”

He smirked at her and leaned on the balcony, sipping at the whiskey he’d snagged from a passing waiter’s tray during their journey across the dancefloor. “Do you really think I’ll tell you my masterplan? And give you the perfect way to ruin it?” he said.

Her glare grew. “How are you still alive?”

His smirk disappeared and he set his tumbler down. “You should have done it yourself and made sure it was done properly. Not left it to some _human,”_ he said disdainfully. He advanced on her, vaguely planning to trap her against the wall. He quite enjoyed the fact that he was currently stronger than her. It made him want to play with her some more, in all kinds of intriguing new ways.

She managed to evade him and backed towards the balcony railing, not giving up on her line of questioning. “Why do you need this planet?”

The Master smiled at her again. A dead expression that didn’t reach his cold, manic eyes. “What makes you think I’m going to tell you anything?”

She scoffed. “C’mon! We’ve known each other for centuries. I’m the only one who would even grasp what you’re planning. How could you resist telling someone how much of a genius you are?”

His grin grew. “Oh no. Not this time, Doctor. Words are your favourite weapons. So, this time, I’m disarming you. It’s all up to you. Again. The Cervus vs the Cybermen. Your new allies vs my immortal creations. The lives of an entire species, make that several, and a planet, on the line. You vs me. Just like old times.”

The Doctor frowned. “You know it doesn’t have to be this way. I am giving you a chance. A way out. You know I can help you with whatever you need. Genocide is unnecessary. I can’t allow it. If you go ahead, I’ll have to throw everything I have into stopping you.”

He shook his head with a laugh. “Oh, Doctor. So noble. Always giving the enemy a chance.” His smile disappeared in an instant. “You couldn’t do it the last time. What makes this any different?”

A steely glint appeared in her eyes. “I have now given you a chance. And we still have some unfinished business regarding Gallifrey…and the CyberMasters. This time you’ll get no mercy from me.”

“Hah, mercy,” he scoffed. “The only thing I saw last time was a coward who couldn’t stomach revenge. Not even against the people that had used her as a stepping stone to greatness, then broke her and rewrote her whole identity."

"It’s pitiful, really,” he spat. “Never cruel or cowardly, was it? The way I see it, you’ve been both many times over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such fun writing this...and it ended up turning out differently than I had planned. The dance was originally planned for the next chapter, but as I wrote something else took shape. At the end the Master got a life of his own and ended up insulting the Doctor. LOL. I had actually thought to have him reveal a bit of his plan to the Doctor but he quite simply refused. 
> 
> I also spent probably an hour researching Cybermen. I am so thankful that Whovians are such a dedicated and passionate bunch. All the forums and wikis are worth gold for new Whovians like me.
> 
> I also wanted to explore just a little bit of the Doctor's vulnerability as a woman. The show has only shown how she's underestimated, but I want to put her in situations she's not faced before. *evil laugh* I absolutely love the angst in this show. And Thirteenth's is much more beneath the surface. I want more of her Ten showing!
> 
> I have to sincerely apologise because my updates are so erratic. It's been a tough time for me work-wise over the last few months as I've had to start bidding and searching for freelance work to fill my afternoons (and make up my budget). Last week I also decided to move my home office for two weeks to see my family after travel restrictions were lifted. And I'm going to see my nephew, who was born in February and who I've not had the pleasure to meet due to lockdown regulations in South Africa.
> 
> So I spent six hours last night perfecting this chapter for you...and it's extra long! In addition, I've already started on the next one. So I"m hoping to post it soon.
> 
> As always, your kudos and comments are much appreciated and tend to make me grin for hours!


	8. Dealing with the aftermath

_"It’s pitiful, really. Never cruel or cowardly, was it? The way I see it, you’ve been both many times over.”_

Those words had pierced the Doctor’s heart like a poisoned dagger. The Master always seemed to know just where to hit her and how to keep her off-balance. She had made that promise to herself long ago – “Never cruel or cowardly.” It was something that she vaguely remembered repeating on the verge of her most recent regeneration. She always tried to keep to that promise, but she knew that she occasionally failed. She was acutely aware of every single time that happened. It was usually abysmally spectacular. Unforgettable. Especially for the people she failed. But it just made her fight harder to keep to it.

After the Master had so cunningly pulled her into his act, there was no way she could sneak around and continue with the mission. The King had not-so-gently insisted that she return to the planet’s surface to allow them to salvage what was left of their plans and for once she was in no mood to argue.

Less than an hour later, she strode into the TARDIS, muttering angrily and plucking off her gloves and heels, tossing them away haphazardly. She tried shimmying out of her dress, then turned angry eyes to Jack, who had followed her inside. Yaz had notified him that the mission had not gone to plan and hinted (actually, borderline-ordered) that he should wait for the Doctor at the TARDIS. He smirked. He enjoyed being around strong, beautiful women (or enchanting creatures of any gender) and Yaz had recently added herself to his list.

“A little help?” the Doctor all but snarled, turning her back on him and indicating the zip that was just out of reach. He swaggered towards her and greatly enjoyed unzipping the dress, letting one of his hands linger on her hip. The Doctor took a small step forward, stripped the dress off and left it in a silky puddle on the floor, then purposefully strode to the console.

Jack suddenly found it hard to breathe. The Doctor was absentmindedly doing her dance around the TARDIS console. There was angry tension in the movements of her lithe form. And she was clad in only in lacy lingerie (as the design of the dress had necessitated it). Per usual, the Time Lord was utterly unaware of her appeal and apparently considered Jack part of the furniture.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to regain his bearings and not get punched for grabbing her and—

“ _Who_ stuck their tongue down your throat?” he asked in a slightly hoarse voice once he’d gathered his wits. He wasn’t quite sure he’d heard right.

More angry muttering sounded from the Doctor as she tapped a few buttons on the console. He took a few steps closer, curious to find out what had happened to put her in a mood, but not quite trusting himself near her.

The blonde Time Lord could still taste the Master’s lips on hers, a feverish, metallic taste, with a spark of the time energy that always swirled around time travellers. She shuddered as she felt the ghost of his too-warm touch. She was still getting used to being a female after twelve (or possibly more) consecutive male regenerations. It was disconcerting being dismissed, underestimated and snubbed for being a woman. She’d felt powerless before, but the feeling seemed to be magnified in this blonde form of hers. She hated being at someone’s mercy. She needed to shake this and get back to forming a strategy to stop the Master and help the Cervus.

She looked up at a monitor to see what the TARDIS thought of the new information she’d fed it when her eye caught Jack’s still form. He was standing on the opposite end of the console, staring at her. She’d forgotten about him…and he’d just asked a question. She stopped and tilted her head, considering his shining, impossible, fixed-point-in-time presence. He would do.

The Doctor quickly crossed the few paces that separated them, then grabbed his collar and yanked him down to her. His eyes widened, then closed involuntarily as she started kissing him. Apparently this body still remembered kissing. And was good at it, she thought absently. He tasted of some kind of sweet alcohol, a hint of mint, the spark of time, the fizz of his impossible existence. She had managed to pin him against the console and his arms had reflexively enfolded her. His warm, familiar, comforting presence enfolded her, replacing the unwelcome echoes of the Master’s touch.

Before Jack’s hands could go wandering, she pulled her lips from his and let go of his shirt. Some of her usual sparkle was back in her eyes as he dazedly allowed her to step out of his arms. She smiled and gave him a saucy wink. “Thanks. I feel better now. Now I can get back to work.” She sauntered off, deeper into the TARDIS to the wardrobe to change into something more comfortable.

Jack slumped back against the TARDIS console and smiled weakly when the TARDIS lights flickered, and a slight wheeze drifted through the room. The ship was laughing at him, he realized. His eyes met those of Ryan and Graham, who stood frozen a few steps into the ship.

“I feel like we missed something…maybe a lot of things,” the oldest companion said, exchanging puzzled glances with his grandson.

Ryan looked at the Doctor’s clothes strewn around the control room and gave Jack a questioning look.

The time traveller just shrugged, still dazed from the Doctor’s unexpected onslaught. “I am the wrong person to ask right now. I have no idea what just happened either.”

* * *

“She did what?” Yaz loudly exclaimed. She just arrived back and had planted herself on the TARDIS steps, taken off her shoes and was rubbing one of her feet. The King had insisted that she and Zephyr dance to keep up their cover. She had enjoyed it since she had not really had many opportunities to attend such glamorous events. But the fancy shoes had been killing her feet. Luckily, she hadn’t had to dodge the Master, since she had seen him disappear through one of the doors deeper into the venue just after the Doctor had left.

The other two companions, who had been explaining what she’d missed, unsuccessfully tried shushing her. She frowned at Jack, who was busy doing some much-needed TARDIS maintenance. “She’s had quite the busy night then. First the Master, then Jack. I didn’t peg her as that type.”

“She’s not like _any_ type,” Jack interrupted, peering out from a section of the control room floor where he was working. After the Doctor had disappeared, he figured he’d do some of the maintenance that she usually neglected until the TARDIS broke down and forced her into it.

“It’s not easy figuring out what’s going on in that gorgeous head of hers,” he smiled.

“Well, then it’s a good idea I’m in the mood for some show-and-tell,” the Time Lord announced, striding into the room, hands in pockets.

She was wearing brown boots, dark skinny jeans, a mauve dress shirt, black leather jacket and a dark purple bow tie with small white polka dots. Rainbow suspenders peeked out from under her jacket as she walked towards them.

Jack whistled. “In a nostalgic mood, Doctor?” he questioned, motioning to the new outfit.

She paused, puzzled, and looked down at what she was wearing. She let out a faint noise of surprise, then shook her head slightly. “Never you mind. My brain was occupied with other, more brilliant things,” she grinned.

Then she focused on Yaz. “Yaz! How did Zephyr’s hacking go? I have a pretty good idea of what the Master’s plan is, but I’m not going to repeat what you already know.”

Yaz frowned at the Doctor. “So you managed to get something out of the Master then? The plan went in such an unexpected direction that the King forgot to ask you to debrief Swift when you got back.”

The Doctor smiled at her. “Of course I got something, Yaz. Never come back home empty-handed. Well, almost never. Well, at least not this time. This time I employed my feminine wiles— Don’t laugh!” Her smile turned into a sulky glare as all four companions burst out laughing.

“I have wiles!” the Doctor insisted, looking distinctly put out. “I’d be happy to demonstrate—” she hastily bit off her statement.

Jack’s smile grew. “I would _love_ another demonstration.”

The blonde clicked her tongue and moved to the console. “Oh, shut up. We have bigger things to deal with.”

The Fam watched their exchange like spectators at a tennis match in a thunderstorm – intrigued despite expecting a disaster at any moment.

The Doctor motioned them all closer to the console. “Yaz, if you’d be so kind?” she invited the dark-haired teen to relay the events during the party.

Yaz stepped forward. “Zephyr managed to access to the Conglomerate’s mainframe. During the battle in two days’ time, they are planning to destroy the rebel base and the surrounding villages. This will be the biggest deployment yet, since they need to clear over 1 500 m2, about the size of London, for their next project.”

Jack grinned. “Well, lucky for the rebels that we gave them a bit of a weapons upgrade, and just in time for the party.”

“True. But we still have the bigger problem of stopping the Cybermen turning more people into soldiers like them.” Yaz turned to the Doctor. “We found their conversion facility. The King is planning to send a strike team to destroy it tomorrow night. He’s hoping some sabotage and destruction will derail some of their battle plans. In the best-case scenario, even put a stop to them.”

“Then we’d better make sure we’re on that team,” the Doctor said, looking at Jack.

“Doctor, there’s a strong possibility the Master will be there,” Yaz interrupted her.

The blonde Time Lord’s face settled into a look of grim determination, a dangerous gleam in her eye again. “All the more reason to go, then.”

“So what’s the plan, Doc?” Graham asked. “What did the Master tell you?”

The Doctor leaned against the TARDIS console and folded her arms. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Ryan repeated, confused.

“Well, he meant to tell me nothing. Instead, he told me loads.” She unfolded her arms and shifted again, smiling.

“Is that why you let him kiss you?” Yaz asked.

The Doctor scrunched up her nose. “I didn’t so much let him as…um…he caught me by surprise. That’s the second time he’s done that. Except last time I didn’t know it was him. And he was a she.” The Doctor involuntarily smiled at the thought of Missy. “Anyway, long story.” She shook her head slightly, frowned and waved her hand at her companions as if _they_ had interrupted her train of thought.

“The Cyberium is killing him," she said matter-of-factly. "It’s started taking him over, so he’s unconsciously doing exactly what Cybermen usually do – amassing an army and destroying or converting all other life. They need a base and reasonably docile creatures that can easily be converted to build enough manpower to go after bigger targets. Then, bingo! the Master finds this planet, ripe for the taking.”

Graham held up a hand. “So if the Cyberium is killing him, how long does he have? I mean, if he’s gone, won’t the plan fall apart? And won’t you be able to trap the Cyberium once it leaves him?”

The two younger humans gaped at Graham. “What? He’s tried killing the whole human race. Not to mention destroying the Doctor’s home planet. You can’t tell me the Doctor is just going to let him go,” he said defensively.

The Doctor cleared her throat and their attention whipped back to her. “Unfortunately, I don’t know how long he has left. At least not until closer inspection. And since he’s a Time Lord, he can regenerate upon death. And I’m not sure how many regenerations he has left. We can’t afford to have him running loose with a new face. Look what happened with O.”

Jack nodded thoughtfully, not willing, at present, to pursue the sensitive subject of the Doctor’s plans for defeating the Master. “So, the Master built the Conglomerate to destabilize the Cervus government and command structure and make it easier to take over? He’s essentially commandeered himself a planet. And since such a powerful group is in charge of “helping to set it right for the benefit of the Cervus”, no one questions or notices the genocide and exploitation, especially since emergency messages don’t make it out of orbit.”

“And tourists are kept to the happy parts, like the amusement park, so no one realizes that something’s fishy,” Ryan added.

The Doctor nodded. “Exactly! So we’ll need to take down the Conglomerate, too. Otherwise, they’ll just find new soldiers and continue with the plan.”

Yaz nodded thoughtfully. “I think that Zephyr will be able to help with that. Since she’s got access to their systems, won’t she be able to mess with their money? Like, maybe transfer it somewhere else, or blacklist them? I’d think that would be enough to make them think twice about whether this planet’s worth it.”

The Doctor gave her a delighted grin and rushed forward to hug her. “Yaz, that is brilliant! Yes. You’re still in contact with her? Great. Tell them we’re on our way. We have some strategizing to do!” The blonde was bouncing with energy now that things were starting to fall into place.

“Doc, it’s close to 1 AM. Some people, like me, need some sleep. Especially if we’re going to be playing special ops commandos tomorrow,” Graham pointed out.

The Doctor blinked, suddenly noticing how tired the three humans were and the occasional (suppressed) yawns. “O, yes. That’s true. You’ll need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for my plans. Well, off you go. The TARDIS’ll show you to some nice bedrooms, won’t you Old Girl?”

The TARDIS chimed and lights flicked on in the corridor leading deeper into the TARDIS. “There you go. Sleep tight!” the Doctor said, shooing them in that direction.

All three looked doubtful but followed the flickering lights which, to their great surprise and delight, led them to a large, plush three-bedroomed suite several doors down.

The Doctor nodded, satisfied, when the lights flicked off again and the companions’ voices faded. Maybe she'd grab an hour’s sleep later. If something more interesting didn’t happen. She nonchalantly sidled towards the open floor panel, curiosity in every deliberate movement. “So _that_ what you’ve been tinkering with. Been meaning to do that for ages,” she said, peering down into it.

Jack smirked up at her. “Well, it’s done now. Do I get a reward? I have several excellent ways we can spend the time before we need to get moving.”

The Doctor rolled her eyes at him. “You still owe me that drink first, Captain.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “That didn’t seem to matter to you three hours ago. But, if you insist, I’m sure I have some spiked ginger beer somewhere.”

The blonde Time Lord sighed in exasperation. “Jack, I need to be plotting. I mean, planning. Plotting sounds a bit sinister, doesn’t it?” she frowned at herself.

Jack’s smile widened and he hauled out a heavy toolbox, then clambered out and replaced the metal grid covering the area where he’d worked. “This time I am keeping you to that raincheck.” As the first step of payback for that sensational kiss, he hugged the Doctor, who immediately squirmed away.

“Just shut up and hand me that wrench. If we’re going into battle tomorrow, my beautiful TARDIS needs to be in top form.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on this for nearly a week. Then I started typing earlier tonight, intending to finally finish it...and it's now almost twice the length of a normal chapter. Consider it my apology for being so bad at posting regular updates. Sorry, guys! But I won't leave you hanging, I will finish this story!  
> Originally the start of this chapter was part of the previous one...but after the Master decided on his dialogue, it was the perfect end to a chapter. So I ended up expanding the Doctor and Jack's kiss scene and Team TARDIS' interactions after the party. And as for my nod to some of the previous Doctors' in Thirteen's new outfit... I googled pictures of Jodie, just to be able to visualize it...and found one of her wearing a similar outfit (minus the boots, bowtie and suspenders), to my great delight. It's a much sexier outfit than Thirteen usually dons, but she needed some comfort after the Master's harassment and unconsciously just picked some of her favourite pieces of clothing.
> 
> Besides work, writing and switching between watching Hawaii Five-O, Pokemon Journeys and X&Y, and Doctor Who season 4 (for the third time), a Kindle Unlimited subscription has been taking up my time. I've been reading KM Shea's (my current favorite author) retelling of the Snow Queen. If you enjoy fantasy, fairy tale retellings and even LitRPG, you'll love her work. I've read her Timeless Fairytales series three or four times (and it counts among my favorite books along with the Discworld novels and Howl's Moving Castle). Also, I discovered Amelia Price's Mycroft Holmes Series and binge-read the first four books in the series over a weekend. Think a sexier Mycroft Holmes, a teeny bit more compassionate Sherlock, loads of action and the fact that the brothers are essentially immortal. And a smart and beautiful writer that gets tangled up in their lives.
> 
> Oops, got side-tracked there...Sorry! As always, thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated. And if you find any spelling or grammer errors, apologies. After close to four hours of writing (and it being close to midnight), the editor part of me has already given up and gone to bed.


	9. The workings of a twisted mind

The Master strolled along a steel walkway on the upper level of the conversion facility. He had headed here after his run-in with the Doctor last night. He ended up spending a few very enjoyable hours curled up in the spacious room he’d designated as his office, listening to the screams and shrieks of the Cervus that were being converted. That kind of thing relaxed him. Especially since he couldn’t get the look in the Doctor’s eyes out of his mind.

She had felt surprisingly soft and fragile in his arms in contrast to the steely determination in her eyes. For several long moments, he’d been torn between finally getting rid of his most troublesome obstacle by squeezing the life out of her or kissing her again just to be close the last vestiges of his home and his people.

But both his home and people had just been an illusion, a twisted fantasy. All thanks to _her_.

He wanted to take his time destroying her like she continued to do to him. Back on Gallifrey, after he’d snatched her away from her pets, she had asked if his genocidal actions had calmed his rage. He smirked. He doubted anything could do that except seeing her suffer. He’d have to find a new way to do that.

This incarnation was more resilient that he’d thought. Shattering everything she thought she knew and destroying the place she thought of as home had not made her give up. It didn’t even keep her down for long. Even though she looked fragile at the edges, two years in one of the worst prisons in the galaxy had not broken her. Killing one of her pet humans could make her snap, he mused. His grin grew. It would be so amusing to see what kind of expression she’d make as she clutched their dying body.

The ringing thud of metal on metal drew him out of his musings. A squad of Cybermen were being called into action and stomped around him. Although he’d told the Conglomerate they would be attacking tomorrow, a recon squad would start scoping out the villages and destroying the smaller ones. Keeping people scared, reckless and off-balance was the first step to completely eradicating them. The Master grinned maniacally as he heard the Cyberium whispering in his mind. Such grand plans and schemes. He quite enjoyed having another genius creature to converse with. Such a shame that it was slowly killing him. He’d have to find a way around that before long – he wasn’t keen on relinquishing this face just yet.

* * *

A few hours later that pleased grin had turned to a dark scowl. The Master ducked laser fire and ordered another CyberMaster to attack. He watched as the group of fighters bombarded it, taking cover behind the debris littering the large industrial space. The CyberMaster’s golden regeneration energy flared several times, then it collapsed and stayed down. The Master roared in fury. The Doctor must have briefed them on how to take out both the Cybermen and Gallifreyan parts of his creations. She was being rather ruthless today. He would have to find a way to rub that fact in her face.

His head whipped back and forth as he searched the room for her. A flash of blonde caught his eye and he watched as she used her sonic device to disable some of the Cybermen security systems and, indeed, a squad of the metal beings. Beside her, he spotted a familiar face. It took him a moment to place the man, then a twisted smile lit his face. It seemed fate had dropped something incredibly useful in his lap…or rather had it walk in his front door. If Plan A didn’t work, he could implement the nasty Plan B he had just cooked up.

* * *

Jack ducked as he laid down cover fire to keep the Doctor alive during her reckless charge through the conversion facility. Although she’d resolutely refused any kind of weapon (although the sonic definitely counted as a weapon in his mind), she was undoubtedly winning this battle for the Resistance. While the majority of their forces were engaged in a furious firefight with the Cybermen and the exceptionally dangerous squad of CyberMasters, the Doctor was systematically disabling or destroying any Cyber-tech she came across. All the while managing to avoid getting shot.

It was like watching a skilled special forces operative at work. Jack had heard of the Doctor of War. He wasn’t sure if it was when he and Clara had cocktails at that place on the Moon, or if the Doctor had let it something slip while they had been having beers and swapping war stories with a group of veterans in a dive on some far-off planet. Now he felt like he was seeing the ghost of that Time War warrior.

As he was teaming up with one of the Cervus to take down a CyberMaster, he heard the Doctor shout his name. The next moment she tackled him to the ground behind a crate of metal parts. He sat up, rubbing at his ribs and trying to catch his breath. Turning, he saw that she was glaring at someone. He carefully peeked over the crate to see a dark-haired man grinning and waggling his fingers at them. The man turned and smoothly shot one of the Cervus in the chest, then glanced back at them with another malicious smile.

“You–,” the Doctor all but growled and started muttering angrily in what he assumed was Gallifreyan. He didn’t think it was anything complimentary, going by the harsh sounds of the normally musical language. The Doctor dashed after him, grabbing Jack by the hand. “C’mon! We need to get the Master before he escapes!”

“ _That’s_ the Master?” Jack shouted over the cacophony of laser fire and explosions.

“Yes! You missed a face. A nicer face than usual.” Fondness flashed on her face for a moment before she shook her head wildly. “But never mind! Can you see him?” The Doctor craned her neck trying to duck laser fire and peered around a doorway.

She stiffened as she saw the Master standing halfway along a walkway close to the roof, waiting for them. Between him and them was the chaos of battle, shots flying as the Cervus were winning the battle for their planet.

“Stop!” The Doctor shouted, her voice magnified by the sonic.

The Master laughed at her. “Does that ever actually work?”

She ignored his remark. “Right now, the people of this planet are fighting to get their home back. I can’t let you go anywhere. And look, I have you cornered.” The Doctor waved her sonic, deadlock sealing all the escape routes surrounding him. As she recklessly charged towards her self-proclaimed Best Enemy, she also used the sonic to reprogram the teleportation device in his pocket and embedded a tracking protocol in one of its subroutines.

Jack paused for a few seconds, scoping out the room to see if he needed to take down any potential threats to the Doctor. Then he heard an ominous rumbling. The next moment the room in front of him caved in.

Jack reflexively ducked back behind the wall and felt the building shake. A few pieces of debris rolled through the doorway and came to rest at his feet. He felt the cold fingers of shock and horror skitter down his spine. The Doctor had been in the middle of the room.

The Master laughed as the dust floated up to his vantage point. “Have me cornered? Do you now? I’m pretty sure I’m about to escape.”

* * *

It was dark and the Doctor could barely breathe as dust swirled in the air and settled around her. For a moment she was back in the prison—helpless, trapped, and constantly haunted by her past sins. Anxiety crashed over her like waves smashing a tiny boat to pieces against the rocks. The blonde put a hand against the floor and started reciting the Gallifreyan alphabet in her native tongue to ground herself. The musical sound of the Time Lord language was soothing and helped to push back the darkness invading her mind. She stood up and tentatively waved her sonic in the small space above her. As the readings appeared, she realized with growing dread that the containers she’d managed to duck between were covered with several metres of debris. She closed her eyes and refrained from taking too deep a breath. She was okay. She was always okay. Sure, she didn’t have a plan right now. But she would in a minute or two. And Jack was probably safe. She could include him in any plans. She pushed down the panic. The Doctor didn’t panic. The Doctor wasn’t in prison anymore. The Doctor was not helpless. This was not a small room covered in tally marks that she’d scratched into the walls in an attempt to keep some sense of time. She would get out. She would find the Master. The Doctor always had a plan. She was positive she’d think of a brilliant one any second now.

The Doctor opened her eyes and straightened her shoulders. She waved her sonic around again and started looking for any weak points and possible exits. Then she felt him, tapping against her mind. Their familiar rhythm. The rhythm of a Time Lord’s heartbeats.

 _Contact_.

 _Hello, dear,_ the Master sneered. _I didn’t see any regeneration energy swirling around, so I assume you survived my little party trick?_ The Doctor rolled her eyes. _Of course it was you._ She could feel him smirking. _One should always make a dramatic exit_ , he quipped. 

_So, you’re going to run now that the Cervus finally have a way to fight back? You won’t be able to run far. The Judoon are on their way. And you’ve helped perpetrate a serious breach of the Shadow Proclamation. Several, actually,_ she said, trying to steady her breathing as the darkness surrounding her grew more oppressive.

The Master laughed over their psychic link. _Don’t you think I’ve planned for that? No, old_ _friend_ , you _won’t be able to escape. I may have gotten a little advance warning about the Judoon and let them know an escaped prisoner was in the area. And look at you now—I’ve practically wrapped you up with a bow for them! Have fun back in prison._

The Doctor looked murderous, clenched her fists, and slammed one against the metal container next to her. _I_ will _find you, wherever you go. I will not let you go on killing and destroying and using me and the Time Lords as an excuse. I have already given you my final warning,_ old friend. _Our next meeting will not be a pleasant one,_ the Doctor snarled.

 _I look forward to it_ , the Master sneered huskily and severed their link.

The Doctor sank to her knees, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. _He is escaping. And I was so close. I can track him if I get to the TARDIS fast enough and he doesn’t discover what I’ve done. And if my tweaks actually worked.._ Her forced eternal optimism flared up, driving her to stand again. He may have outwitted her this time, she grudgingly admitted to herself, but he’d also given her a plan. And she had limited his travelling range. Maybe. Possibly. She needed to get to the TARDIS fast.

The blonde closed her eyes and sent out psychic feelers, looking for a specific, familiar mind. “Yaz …” she breathed.

* * *

“Doctor!” the blonde heard Yaz call out in relief as soon as she appeared in the teleport in the Cervus stronghold. The teen barreled into her and gave her a hug, making small puffs of dust rise from her coat. The blonde sagged against her friend for a moment, relieved to finally be out of the oppressive darkness. Then she straightened, shaking off the last vestiges of her claustrophobia and anxiety. “I’ve got to get to the TARDIS now. I need track the Master and be somewhere far away before the Judoon notice me.”

Yaz nodded and handed the Doctor a vortex manipulator with a smile. “Your cheap and nasty time travel device, as you requested. I’d like to know more about your psychic trick, by the way, once we’re back on the TARDIS. And I let Jack know you’re okay. He’s on his way back. Apparently, he’s not too keen on the Judoon either.”

The Doctor returned her friend’s smile and secured the device onto her wrist. “Perfect! Ten points to Yaz. Or maybe twenty, since I think I really worried Jack. And, um, have I not mentioned that I’m slightly psychic? I must’ve.” She paused in thought, then shook her head to focus herself, making more dust float from her hair. “Now, I’ll come and get you and Ryan with the TARDIS shortly. The Judoon saw me with you when we encountered them back on Earth, so I can’t be sure they won’t target you too. Graham should be able to wrap up things for us here and I’m sure Jack will find his way onto the TARDIS…”

She waved at the teen, who scurred off, and keyed the TARDIS’s coordinates into the device on her wrist. With a last wave at the Cervus, she was transported to the TARDIS console room. “Hello, old girl,” she said, fondly patting the console. She removed the vortex manipulator and tossed it onto the console. “Thanks for letting me in. We have a few things to do…and it needs to happen quickly…” she continued as she started her familiar dance around the console. The TARDIS’s lights flickered warmly as if sensing that her thief needed a little comforting.

* * *

A few hours later, the TARDIS was parked in the shadow of a nearby moon, cloaked from and protected against the Judoon and any other detection tech. The Doctor had learnt her lesson and was taking no chances. She sat in the doorway, surveillance from the planet below playing loudly on the screens in the console room.

Zephyr and Föhn had managed to hack the Conglomerate systems and contact the Shadow Proclamation to alert them of what was happening to the Cervus homeworld. Several squads of Judoon were deployed, who managed to eliminate the Cybermen and destroy all traces of their technology on the planet. A few of the Conglomerate higher-ups had been apprehended, but their Chairman had mysteriously disappeared. The recon/hacker team had managed to get a picture of the Chairman during the Conglomerate’s anniversary party and Zephyr handed it over with the bits of intel the Doctor had on the Master’s current face. It was sparse, but the Shadow Proclamation was well-aware of the Master. He had his own filing cabinet, much like the Doctor, due to his myriad of crimes across the galaxy.

She’d put to the TARDIS to work trying to locate the Master, to no avail. Yet. She was not going to give up hope. She’d find a trace of him sooner or later. The Doctor contemplated going to the ruins of Gallifrey and having the TARDIS orbit the planet for a bit as she waited for Graham. The Cervus had insisted he stay for a feast to represent Team TARDIS and had promised to send snacks back with him for the others. The two teens, though disappointed that they couldn’t go to an alien feast, had decided to celebrate in the bowling alley instead. The smell of popcorn and faint sounds of what seemed to be a spirited match drifted into the TARDIS control room. The Doctor was sure the TARDIS was doing it to make sure she didn’t brood in silence.

She had drifted into one of her moods again. Like the ones she had periodically sunk into ever since she’d first witnessed Gallifrey in ruins. But now it was much deeper. Now she had the mystery of her origins to ponder as well. And all those missing years…and lives…

Her ruminations were disturbed when Jack plopped down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She didn’t move. She just felt so _tired_. Jack tensed for a moment, as if waiting for the inevitable smack, then relaxed as she tipped her head onto his shoulder. The Doctor continued to stare at the planet below.

“I’m not really a Time Lord,” she told him flatly. He stiffened and she could feel him looking at her. “The Master trapped me in the Matrix, which is essentially a record of everything Time Lord, when we were in the ruins of Gallifrey. He showed me the origins of the Time Lords. He showed me my past. The Timeless Child. Found by a native of Gallifrey, who saw her adopted child regenerate after falling off a cliff. She experimented on the child until she discovered the secret to the transformation and this secret was passed onto others of her race. This race grew into the powerful and pompous Time Lords. Who apparently used the child as a operative of something called The Division. After years of faithful service, all the child’s memories of their previous lives were erased…” she trailed off and lifted her head, pressing her palms to her eyes. “He told me I was the Timeless Child. Showed me that I’ve had so many other lives, other faces, that I have no clue about. Where am I really from? What am I?”

She sounded so anguished that Jack tightened his arms around her and gave her a soft kiss on top of her head. It broke his heart to see him longtime friend suffering like this.

“You’re the Doctor,” he said, his voice sure and strong.

She looked up at him with eyes so ancient, so sad, yet so _hopeful_.

“You’re the Doctor,” Jack repeated confidently. “You save people and do impossible things. You travel the universe in your amazing blue box and see incredible things.” His expression grew more serious. “Can you really trust what you saw in the Matrix? Can you trust the Master to give you the actual truth? Isn’t there somewhere you can confirm his story?” He turned his gaze to the planet below them. “Also, I have actually heard of an organization called the Division. Not much, though. And nothing good. Although, the only whispers I’ve heard were in places frequented by people on the wrong side of the law.”

A grin slowly made its way across her face and lit up her features. “You’re right, Jack. I _am_ the Doctor. That’s all I need to know now. And yes, I should find other sources to corroborate. Although I’m not sure if there is anything like that…but I have to try. Thank you. You’re a good friend.” She patted his arm awkwardly, but her eyes were filled with steely determination.

Jack let go of her and dramatically clutched his chest. “You wound me, Doctor. Just a friend? What about if I buy you that drink now…” he said. “We might as well start investigating this _Division_. And I know a great place to start our enquiries.” He grinned and stood up, then extended his hand with a wink. “They have a purple couch, which I think you'd like.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it took me three months to update! Apologies for that. Work, extra work and end-of-year chaos and exhaustion got in the way. But I hope that chapter makes up for it.
> 
> I'd actually written the end of the story a month or two back...but then got stuck trying to figure out how to fill out the second-last chapter.
> 
> So one more (short) chapter to go...and then... I'm considering it. Once you see the ending, you'll know why I feel that way.
> 
> As always, thanks for kudos and comments! Constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated. Any spelling/grammer mistakes are due to late-night/early-morning brain malfunctions...and Grammarly hating my slow internet connection..


	10. A Moment of Rest

Jack sipped at his whiskey and enjoyed the magnificent view from his balcony. He was also enjoying the feeling of a warm body cuddled up to his side. Too bad she was fast asleep. Had been for probably the last hour. After he’d realized that the Doctor had managed to get drunk off a variety of ginger-spiked drinks, he’d bundled her up in his coat and into a taxi and headed home. She’d panicked when he’d put her down alone in the darkened spare bedroom. When she mumbled something about the walls closing in and clung to him, he realised that she was still far from recovered from her stint in prison.

He’d carried her through the living room’s open glass doors and deposited her on the extremely comfortable couch he’d picked up during his travels. He’d gently pressed a glass of water in her hands after she’d sunk into the soft upholstery. While she drank, he unlaced her boots and pulled them off. She put the glass down unsteadily and curled up against his side as she sat down. She twined her arms around his and mumbled her thanks as her eyes closed.

Jack looked down at her gentle sleeping face and smiled. All her adventures, the exhaustion of the past three years had finally crashed down on her once she was safe. He was amazed that he now counted as one of her safe places. During the group’s drunken chatter, she’d apologised for how she’d treated him following his resurrection by Rose Tyler’s Bad Wolf form, mentioning that they were two of a kind. She was something different, too. And that she needed to find out exactly what she was. Before he’d been able to get this surprisingly forthcoming Doctor to spill more, she’d been distracted by Ryan, who’d produced a deck of black and white Cards Against Lifeforms. He’d found this alien version of the popular Earth party game at a bazaar on one of the planets they had recently visited and couldn’t resist finally trying it out.

He set the whiskey glass down and pulled a throw over the Doctor when he felt her shiver. He’d tasked one of his more reputable friends to play tour guide to the humans, who had not been nearly as drunk as the Doctor. Yaz, who looked to be the most responsible of the bunch, had the coordinates of his house programmed into her phone, which he’d set up with this planet’s version of Google Maps. He was sure they’d stumble in somewhere before dawn and then sleep the day away.

A knock sounded at the front door and just as he opened his mouth to invite the person at the door in (probably Shera with whichever human was the most lightweight), the door opened. Before his guest could call out in greeting, he pressed his fingers to his lips.

“Ooh, a guest,” her sultry voice sounded as she sauntered closer. “That’s _actually_ sleeping. Jack, are you slipping, or did someone finally manage to tame you?”

Jack smiled and winked. “Oh, you know there's only one person that’s ever come close to managing that.”

River Song, looking windblown and coming off an adrenalin-high, likely due to a close escape after some theft, froze in the midst of peering over the couch back. “What?” she whispered as she leaned over farther to see the small, blonde female curled up against her friend.

Her lips curled in a seductive smile that had broken hearts across the galaxy. It only grew when the Doctor shifted, giving River a good look at her delicate profile.

“I take it this is a face you haven’t come across yet? As far as I can tell, she’s from your personal future, a future after your ‘night on Darillium,’” Jack said, working hard to sound kind and gentle. River was so fragile when it came to the Doctor, especially if it related to their complicated interwoven timelines and the reported time of her death.

River smile disappeared and she looked haunted for a second, but then curiosity and intrigue won over. “That is quite a pretty face. And she’s blonde again.”

Jack laughed softly. “She’s all energy and positivity. Still totally the Doctor – intense, commanding, reckless, brilliant. Traumatised.” He said the last word softly.

River reached down and combed her fingers through the Doctor’s soft blonde hair. “So same as always, just with a few new quirks?” Her smile was wistful.

“She was in prison for three years. Captured by the Judoon for something she doesn’t remember doing. And this was after the Master destroyed Gallifrey and massacred all the Time Lords…” Jack explained about the Timeless Child, knowing that River was one of the only other people that would understand. Someone who would always help the Doctor, who would be able to help track the Master down and get to the truth.

River sat down on the sofa arm, looking devasted on behalf of her love. Then she looked at Jack. “I actually just came to stash something here and pick up a few things from the cellar safe. Now it sounds like you’re inviting me along on a hunt for the Master.”

Jack just looked at her and she sighed. “You know I can’t just let the Doctor muddle on. Not if something is really hurting him…her.” Exasperated, she pushed her hair away from her face. “Of course I’m in. However, the question is really…will she accept my help?”

The handsome immortal nodded solemnly. “I honestly don’t know. But, River, she _needs_ it, whether she admits it or not. She’s afraid of what she will find out about herself. And whatever is behind that fear, whatever answers we find, will change not only her life, but that of everyone around her. Maybe even everyone who’s ever known her.”

River couldn’t help reaching out and laying a hand on the Doctor’s leg. Her warm touch met cool skin and the Doctor shifted again with a happy sigh. Then she opened her eyes and looked straight into River’s. It took her a moment to wake up properly and process, then she stiffened in shock.

River smiled warmly, wistfully, filled to the brim with love. “Hello, Sweetie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided to post this with the previous chapter so I don't leave you hanging...and to make sure I complete this story before Revolution of the Daleks airs. Because then this is officially not canon. I cannot wait to see what happens in the Special. A fellow Whovian and I are planning to watch it together. Just so we can fangirl and discuss it with the only other Whovian in our life. LOL. IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! Especially since Jack is back!
> 
> I'm still considering writing a sequel...it may depend on what Chibbs includes in the New Year's Special...and it will give me something Who-related to do while we wait for Season 13.
> 
> Thanks for reading! It was great to have you guys join me on my first Who-fic journey. Hopefully, this is my first of many (I am part of so many fandoms). I'd actually like to write an 11/River story since they are one of my favourite pairings...maybe relating to the return/revival of the Silurians? (Just an idea that came to me when I rewatched season 6.)
> 
> Story ideas, requests and prompts for Behind the Fear's sequel are welcome!


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